Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,016,306 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 185,402 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.37% of Morningstar worth $342,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $111,694,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Morningstar by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,829,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Morningstar by 339.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 117,156 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,453,000 after buying an additional 90,466 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MORN shares. 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 note on Thursday.

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Morningstar Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $11.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $257.07. 66,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,558. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $309.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $327.24. The firm has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89 and a beta of 1.16. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $253.35 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar 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.