Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,725 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,643 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Morningstar by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 271 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.0 %

MORN stock traded up $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 131,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11 and a beta of 1.16. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $250.34 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

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 issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.