Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,769 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,199 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $22.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $268.76. 193,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,741. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $309.72 and a 200 day moving average of $327.16. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $268.31 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.16.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

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.