Confluence Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,103 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,290 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.14% of Morningstar worth $18,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 19.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,719,000 after buying an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total transaction of $2,728,568.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,047,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,025,251,665.20. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,695 shares of company stock valued at $21,620,366. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN traded down $2.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $306.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,505. The business's 50-day moving average price is $290.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Morningstar's payout ratio is 20.45%.

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.