Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 562 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 30.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 562 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 73.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 93.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.4 %

Morningstar stock opened at $342.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.18 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.04. 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 fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm 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 firm 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 dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total value of $2,974,329.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,845,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock worth $17,961,104. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two 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 an average target price of $360.67.

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.