Northern Trust Corp Decreases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in Morningstar, Inc. by 5.4%, owning approximately 0.52% of the company after selling 12,533 shares.
• During the first quarter, multiple hedge funds increased their positions in Morningstar, contributing to institutional investors owning 57.02% of the company's stock.
• Morningstar announced a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 0.7% with a payout ratio of 19.38%.

Northern Trust Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,616 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,533 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.52% of Morningstar worth $65,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 29,886 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,095 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 122.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $262.42. 345,496 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 357,048. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $281.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.24. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $605.84 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MORN. Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $361.67.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.50, for a total value of $1,859,625.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,373,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,404,219,387.50. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 85,500 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,957 in the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar 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.