Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 119 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.2% during the third quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $296.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $278.64 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $316.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday.

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.