Cerity Partners LLC Has $1.48 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,628 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,690 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $111,694,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $363,903,000 after buying an additional 130,087 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,829,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 339.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 117,156 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,453,000 after acquiring an additional 90,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of MORN traded up $9.67 on Wednesday, hitting $282.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,300. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $294.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.54. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34 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 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 paid a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value of $1,182,974.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

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.