UMB Bank n.a. Acquires 54 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 lifted its position in Morningstar by 0.5% during 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 boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 3.7% during the third 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 grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in 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, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $327.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $340.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $327.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.02 billion, a PE ratio of 43.20 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm 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 dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

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.