Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 93 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd reduced its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 29.4% in 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. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 19.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $278.39 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $303.23 and a 200-day moving average of $325.19.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. 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.