Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 829 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 21.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 754 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 38.0% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total value of $1,781,709.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,551,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,284,364,782.46. The trade was a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,541 shares of company stock valued at $20,234,838. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ MORN opened at $346.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $352.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $331.79 and a 200-day moving average of $312.64.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

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.