Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Director Sells $248,910.00 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $3.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $330.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 151,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,385. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.12 billion, a PE ratio of 67.34 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $247.16 and a 12 month high of $349.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $322.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.46.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 22.34%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,288,000 after acquiring an additional 4,822 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after purchasing an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 291,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,887,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,492,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,239,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

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.