Dempze Nancy E Sells 1,000 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Dempze Nancy E trimmed its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 40.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Dempze Nancy E’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $111,694,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Morningstar by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,903,000 after acquiring an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,829,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Morningstar by 339.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 117,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,453,000 after purchasing an additional 90,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total transaction of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MORN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Trading Down 7.6 %

Morningstar stock opened at $268.76 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $268.31 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $309.72 and a 200 day moving average of $327.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.68%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

About Morningstar

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.