Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd has acquired a new position in Morningstar, Inc., purchasing 1,748 shares valued at approximately $524,000 in the first quarter.
• Morningstar recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.23 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, though the reported revenue was slightly below estimates at $581.90 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, set to be paid on July 31, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.65%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,748 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $524,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 24.2% in the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.8% in the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 38,216 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,460,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.1% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,302 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,188,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 5,066.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 31.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 355 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total value of $381,923.92. Following the sale, the chairman owned 9,427,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,569 shares of company stock worth $16,333,474. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Morningstar Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:MORN traded down $9.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $274.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 220,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,230. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $300.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84 and a beta of 1.01.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 16.60%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

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.