Natixis Trims Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Natixis trimmed its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,933 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 626,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $196,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $162,168,000 after purchasing an additional 253,137 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $93,224,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 266.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 280,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,190,000 after purchasing an additional 204,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,191,000 after purchasing an additional 35,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $216.42 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.89 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62 and a beta of 1.11.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.13. Morningstar had a return on equity of 25.07% and a net margin of 15.70%.The firm had revenue of $617.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $603.29 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 20.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.95, for a total value of $1,536,637.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,693,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,842,601,101.75. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 63,750 shares of company stock worth $13,537,223 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MORN. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price target on Morningstar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

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.