Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys 90,466 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 339.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,156 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 90,466 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.27% of Morningstar worth $39,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $50,694,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Morningstar by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,860 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,694,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $836,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. Insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock traded down $10.91 during trading on Monday, reaching $257.85. 308,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 129,456. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $308.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $326.79. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $251.53 and a twelve month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Morningstar Company 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.