Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Holdings Lifted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $10,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Morningstar by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Morningstar by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Morningstar by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total transaction of $2,557,749.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $278.74 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.82 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $290.43 and its 200-day moving average is $320.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released 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. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors 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 represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

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.