Commerce Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Commerce Bank lowered its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 33,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,820,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth about $3,181,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 1,274,200.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,743 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 12,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Morningstar by 120.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,579 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.18, for a total value of $1,907,419.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,539,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,290,289,165.24. The trade was a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at $4,468,344. This represents a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,541 shares of company stock valued at $20,234,838 over the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $346.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $352.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $331.79 and a 200 day moving average of $312.64.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 21.40%.

Morningstar 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.