Polen Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Polen Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 37.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,290 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,497,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Morningstar by 61.3% in 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 buying an additional 33,595 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $286.94 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $278.64 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $318.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.85.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 59,542 shares of company stock valued at $18,769,523 in the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.