Fmr LLC Sells 935 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

FMR LLC trimmed its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,585 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 935 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.93% of Morningstar worth $134,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total value of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,247,495,275.46. This represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MORN traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $277.19. The stock had a trading volume of 190,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,336. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62 and a beta of 1.16. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 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 50-day moving average of $297.39 and a 200 day moving average of $323.46.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

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.