Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $836,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 2.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,045 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 16.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 10.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after buying an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Morningstar by 16.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 282.2% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 22,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after acquiring an additional 16,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $296.11 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $313.34 and a 200-day moving average of $327.85. The company has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 1.23. 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 1 year low of $278.64 and a 1 year high of $365.00.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

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.