Dempze Nancy E Reduces Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Dempze Nancy E lessened its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,494 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Dempze Nancy E's holdings in Morningstar were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Morningstar Stock Down 4.1 %

Morningstar stock traded down $10.91 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $257.85. The stock had a trading volume of 308,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,456. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $253.35 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $309.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $327.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.