Congress Asset Management Co. Grows Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,043 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,416 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.11% of Morningstar worth $16,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empire Life Investments Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 6,806 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 25,261 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,507,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $122,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $327.11. 174,576 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,336. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.21 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $270.44 and a one year high of $365.00. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $331.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $329.41.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued 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, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total value of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,130,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,247,495,275.46. The trade was a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,540. Insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

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.