Joseph Mansueto Sells 6,464 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 6,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.21, for a total value of $1,197,197.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,223,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,104,253.81. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Trading Down 2.2%

Morningstar stock traded down $3.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.47. 843,255 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,942. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.62 and a 52-week high of $330.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 1.08. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.19.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 106.9% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,119,000 after purchasing an additional 314,275 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter worth $93,224,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 266.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 280,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $88,190,000 after buying an additional 204,277 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 22,716.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 162,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,512,000 after buying an additional 161,968 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 362.8% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 187,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,416,000 after buying an additional 146,693 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.