Dempze Nancy E Sells 1,000 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Dempze Nancy E reduced its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 40.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Dempze Nancy E’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,909,000 after buying an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the third quarter worth about $301,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Morningstar by 10.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter valued at approximately $452,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Morningstar by 74.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $268.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $309.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $327.11. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $268.31 and a 52-week high of $365.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

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.