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

Commerce Bank lowered its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. 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 quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total transaction of $1,781,709.48. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,551,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,284,364,782.46. The trade was a 0.05 % 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.8 %

MORN stock opened at $346.21 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $331.79 and a 200 day moving average of $312.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $352.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly 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). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

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.