Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 185,402 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,016,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 185,402 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.37% of Morningstar worth $342,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $301.88 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $278.64 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $311.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $327.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.88 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

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.