US Bancorp DE Sells 1,684 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

US Bancorp DE lowered its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,914 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,684 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 5,066.7% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 172.3% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 177 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction 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 owned 4,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.67, for a total value of $1,128,059.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,401,507 shares in the company, valued at $2,460,092,336.69. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,398 shares of company stock worth $15,079,996. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $258.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 239,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. 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 $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $299.18.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's payout ratio 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.