Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells 9,062 Shares of Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $322.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $330.85 and its 200-day moving average is $329.39. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $273.56 and a one year high of $365.00.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.