5,471 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Acquired by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC has acquired 5,471 shares of Morningstar, Inc., valued at approximately $1,641,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• Morningstar's shares have seen recent analyst activity, with BMO Capital Markets raising the target price from $339.00 to $355.00 while Wall Street Zen downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating.
• The company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.19, alongside a declared quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,471 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,641,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MORN. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,092 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,715,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 34,728 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,695,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 94,135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,701,000 after acquiring an additional 17,139 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 194,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,393,000 after purchasing an additional 77,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 188,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,435,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.86, for a total transaction of $2,246,485.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 9,442,731 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,924,627.66. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,398 shares of company stock worth $15,079,996. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $258.92. 239,084 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,141. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $294.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.96. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 19.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

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.