Insider Selling: Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Director Sells $131,088.00 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Director Caroline Tsay sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total value of $131,088.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $818,207.60. The trade was a 13.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.3%

MORN opened at $217.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $202.89 and a 52 week high of $339.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $214.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $617.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.29 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 25.07% and a net margin of 15.70%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 20.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MORN. UBS Group lowered their price target on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Morningstar by 72.9% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 268 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 84.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 253 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,891,000 after purchasing an additional 82,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at about $972,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.