Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Takes $216,000 Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 755 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its position in Morningstar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $299.16 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $284.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $185.15 and a one year high of $316.05. The company has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 60.44 and a beta of 1.15.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $542.80 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 10.13%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,675 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.07, for a total transaction of $1,454,252.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,776,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,352,346,330.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.07, for a total transaction of $1,454,252.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,776,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,352,346,330.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,481,528.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,899,717 shares in the company, valued at $3,007,667,908.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,379 shares of company stock valued at $28,886,353 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

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.