Cinctive Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 4,313 Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,313 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Morningstar by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on 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 Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $10.91 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $257.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 308,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50 day moving average price is $309.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $327.24. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.35 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

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 issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar's payout ratio is 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.