Insider Selling: Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Director Sells 200 Shares of Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,254.80. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MORN stock opened at $305.82 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.40 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $468,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Morningstar by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Morningstar by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Company Profile

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.