2,669 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP invested approximately $800,000 in Morningstar, Inc. by acquiring 2,669 shares in the first quarter.
• Morningstar reported $2.40 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, with quarterly revenue of $605.10 million.
• Insiders in the company have recently conducted stock sales, with 53,569 shares sold valued at about $16.3 million in the last ninety days.

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,669 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,584,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 30,785.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,252,000 after acquiring an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Morningstar by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 194,182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $65,393,000 after purchasing an additional 77,042 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,431 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $189,116,000 after purchasing an additional 64,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,497,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,427,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,319 shares of company stock worth $14,193,637 over the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN traded down $2.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $270.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 458,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,028. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $299.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 23.54%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.38%.

Morningstar Company 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.