Wallace Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Wallace Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,727,000 after buying an additional 194,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth $19,666,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,814,431,929.28. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MORN shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $319.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 42.24 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $325.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.