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

Wallace Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Morningstar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Morningstar by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $319.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $325.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.24 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.