Oak Thistle LLC Acquires 2,826 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 194.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,276 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,826 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $61,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 259.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 9,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth approximately $3,181,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 in the last 90 days. 37.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MORN. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three 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 Up 0.8 %

Shares of MORN traded up $2.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $327.07. 119,313 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,101. The stock has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.21 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $342.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $326.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.