Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,885 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,746 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Morningstar worth $25,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 75.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 32.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 22,109 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 3.0% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 60,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,801,000 after buying an additional 1,755 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Morningstar by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,191,000 after acquiring an additional 35,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 70,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,251,000 after acquiring an additional 13,627 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.89, for a total transaction of $1,528,952.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,609,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,815,692,673.63. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total transaction of $131,088.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $818,207.60. This trade represents a 13.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $8,118,321. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $154.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 1.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.08 and a 12-month high of $330.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 25.07%. The firm had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.43 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.75%.

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.