Joseph Mansueto Sells 7,250 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.80, for a total value of $1,310,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,230,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,488,006,600. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.47. 843,255 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,942. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 1.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.62 and a 52 week high of $330.55.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price target on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 819 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2,600.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 122.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.