Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto Sells 4,311 Shares

Key Points

• Joseph D. Mansueto, Chairman of Morningstar, Inc., sold 4,311 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $261.67, totaling over $1.12 million, reducing his ownership to approximately 9.4 million shares.
• Morningstar reported quarterly earnings of $2.40 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.21, but revenue fell short at $605.10 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,311 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.67, for a total value of $1,128,059.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,401,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,460,092,336.69. This represents a 0.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN stock traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $259.99. 361,081 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,511. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $297.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.42. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $250.34 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 23.54%. The company had revenue of $605.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 19.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,795 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $162,168,000 after purchasing an additional 253,137 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,719,000 after purchasing an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 230,149 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,505,000 after purchasing an additional 36,133 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,465 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $58,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 194,182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,393,000 after purchasing an additional 77,042 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.

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