Sei Investments Co. Buys 1,884 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 136,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.32% of Morningstar worth $46,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $16,497,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 88,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,203,000 after purchasing an additional 33,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Company Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar by 115.2% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 56,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,071,000 after purchasing an additional 30,320 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN opened at $303.63 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $278.64 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $315.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released 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. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar 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.