JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 41,877 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 41,877 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $64,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Morningstar by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,410,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 73.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 143.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 522 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total value of $40,371.34. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,788,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,691,027,765.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 over the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $334.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.22 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $344.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.22. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

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.