Cwm LLC Raises Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Cwm LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Morningstar by 1.3% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 7,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 20.6% during the first quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,402 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 2.1% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,543 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total transaction of $381,923.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,427,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,569 shares of company stock valued at $16,333,474 over the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MORN opened at $278.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 1.01. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $301.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.85.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

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.