IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Trims Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,849 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,196,000 after buying an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.4 %

MORN stock opened at $302.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $313.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $327.77. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $278.64 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted 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. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders 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.