Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MORN. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 93.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 14.2% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 7.4% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 75.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 30.7% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.0 %

MORN opened at $290.65 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $281.37 and a one year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.54.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,703 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,106. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MORN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Morningstar 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.