Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $11.70 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,728 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Morningstar worth $11,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Morningstar by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Morningstar by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $278.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78 and a beta of 1.16. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $303.23 and a 200-day moving average of $325.19. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The company 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. 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 is presently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the 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 owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.