Premier Fund Managers Ltd Invests $50.69 Million in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 150,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $50,694,000. Morningstar makes up about 1.8% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned about 0.35% of Morningstar as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $61,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 194.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MORN shares. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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 Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last quarter. Insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ MORN traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $302.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 48,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,488. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $278.64 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $312.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $327.95. 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 company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.24%.

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.