Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 51,598 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,598 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.54% of Morningstar worth $944,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after buying an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,772,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following 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 represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.0 %

Morningstar stock opened at $296.11 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $278.64 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $313.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $327.71. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 1.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. 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 yield of 0.61%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

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.