Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 259.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 9,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Morningstar during the third quarter worth $3,181,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $337.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $344.32 and its 200-day moving average is $323.38. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.61 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $365.00.

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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744. 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.