Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 19.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $303.80 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $250.34 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.17.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total value of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,247,495,275.46. This represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,198 shares of company stock valued at $20,504,896. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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 raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

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.