Machina Capital S.A.S. Decreases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Machina Capital S.A.S. decreased its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 817 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MORN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $290.65 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $323.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $329.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $281.37 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.40 and a beta of 1.23.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. 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 0.63%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total transaction of $2,728,568.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,047,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,025,251,665.20. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,703 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,106 in the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.