M&T Bank Corp Reduces Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after buying an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Morningstar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Morningstar by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,188 shares of company stock valued at $16,823,772 in the last quarter. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.6 %

Morningstar stock opened at $352.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.60 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $362.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $342.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.54. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business 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. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.