Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New $236,000 Investment in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 700 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Morningstar by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 32,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,462,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,982,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $322.36 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid 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 0.56%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.