Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Purchased by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $96,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 1.9% in the third 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 acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,982,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $565,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $334.73 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.22 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $344.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.22.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 over the last three months. 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.