Fox Run Management L.L.C. Sells 2,134 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 44.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,134 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 9.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 12.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 106,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,874,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,719,000 after purchasing an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 9.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,944 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.28, for a total value of $1,026,544.32. Following the sale, the chairman owned 9,361,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,436,736,414.68. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,750 shares of company stock valued at $18,257,730. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MORN. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ MORN opened at $258.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $289.66 and its 200-day moving average is $296.71. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.22%. The business had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.38%.

About Morningstar

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.