Quantinno Capital Management LP Boosts Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% in the 4th 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, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $2,751,980.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,096,098 shares in the company, valued at $3,310,409,573.22. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,254.80. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,085 shares of company stock valued at $21,790,680 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $310.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.01 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $289.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.93. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $250.34 and a 52-week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.07 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

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.