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

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MORN. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 12.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,874,000 after buying an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Morningstar by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $102,719,000 after buying an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Morningstar by 17.9% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $291.06 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $305.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business had revenue of $581.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.25, for a total transaction of $2,155,062.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,495,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,822,598,311.25. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,569 shares of company stock worth $16,333,474. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

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.