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

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN opened at $296.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.19 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $316.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.32. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $278.64 and a one year high of $365.00.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.