Benjamin Edwards Inc. Cuts Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 39.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 895 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 572 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scout Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 42,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,034,000 after buying an additional 18,345 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 506.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after buying an additional 11,024 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc grew its holdings in Morningstar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,239,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 533,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $152,834,000 after acquiring an additional 5,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the first quarter valued at $20,986,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total transaction of $220,657.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660,286.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.98, for a total transaction of $86,124.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,646.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total transaction of $220,657.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660,286.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,231 shares of company stock valued at $19,488,988 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.0 %

MORN stock opened at $320.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $311.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.45 and a fifty-two week high of $330.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 64.79 and a beta of 1.18.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $571.90 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 22.34%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 32.73%.

Morningstar Profile

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.