Amalgamated Bank Decreases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 172.3% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ MORN opened at $311.09 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $303.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,346,254.80. This trade represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total value of $381,923.92. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,427,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,569 shares of company stock worth $16,333,474. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

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.