Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Morningstar by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MORN. Redburn Atlantic cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,911 shares of company stock valued at $17,474,834 over the last three months. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $326.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $339.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.13. The firm has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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 dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

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.