Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Holdings Trimmed by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 46.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,120 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,001 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 7.0% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 4,017.1% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 6,829 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Morningstar by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,465 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares during the period. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV raised its position in Morningstar by 6.8% in the first quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,407 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the first quarter valued at about $1,641,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,944 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.28, for a total transaction of $1,026,544.32. Following the sale, the chairman owned 9,361,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,436,736,414.68. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 65,750 shares of company stock worth $18,257,730 over the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $258.63. The company had a trading volume of 292,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,685. 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 50 day moving average price of $289.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.51. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.22%. The company had revenue of $605.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Morningstar's payout ratio is presently 19.38%.

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.