Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 42.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,371 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $163.70 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $209.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 1.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.87 and a 12-month high of $330.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,352 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.57, for a total transaction of $1,077,108.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,217,309 shares in the company, valued at $1,393,409,087.13. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total transaction of $131,088.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,745 shares in the company, valued at $818,207.60. The trade was a 13.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,905 shares of company stock worth $11,842,178. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.