Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Purchased by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $22,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Morningstar by 0.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Morningstar by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,247,495,275.46. This represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,106 shares of company stock worth $7,878,540. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $328.45 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $269.51 and a one year 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $331.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.41. The company has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

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.