Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 0.06% of Morningstar worth $8,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 12.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 259.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $3,181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $328.72 on Wednesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $332.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $329.30. The company has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,540 in the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

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.