Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Grows Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN – Get Rating) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 1,109.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. IMA Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Column Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. 54.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com began coverage on Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Redburn Partners cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.38, for a total transaction of $547,213.70. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 12,511,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,894,864,594. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,365 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.38, for a total value of $547,213.70. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 12,511,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,894,864,594. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,400 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.69, for a total value of $1,348,326.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 12,412,078 shares in the company, valued at $3,099,171,755.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 100,839 shares of company stock valued at $23,279,611 over the last ninety days. 41.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $240.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $231.71 and its 200 day moving average is $232.49. The stock has a market cap of $10.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.48 and a beta of 1.13. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $207.11 and a one year high of $298.51.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The business services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $468.20 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 6.66%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 5th. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.63%.

About Morningstar

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Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment research services in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers web-based tools; investment data, fundamental equity and manager research, private capital markets research, credit and fund rating, and index, as well as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating services; and investment offerings, including managed investment products, publicly listed and private companies, fixed income securities, and real-time global market data for financial advisors, asset managers, retirement plan providers and sponsors, and individual and institutional investors.