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

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 30.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,288 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 562 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after acquiring an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,666,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN 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. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $269.51 and a one year high of $365.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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 net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total value of $2,985,475.90. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,836,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,136,319.20. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. This represents a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104. Corporate insiders own 39.90% 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.