Norges Bank Takes $111.69 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 331,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $111,694,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.77% of Morningstar at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on 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 cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.5 %

MORN stock opened at $301.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $312.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $327.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 over the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.