DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 2,700 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. lessened its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. owned 0.20% of Morningstar worth $28,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 15,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,452,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $405,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,116,000 after acquiring an additional 64,020 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $301.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88 and a beta of 1.23. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $311.65 and a 200 day moving average of $327.70. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $278.64 and a 52 week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. 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 0.60%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.