Whittier Trust Co. Raises Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 64.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 271 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Morningstar by 120.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,428,000 after purchasing an additional 7,579 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,481,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after buying an additional 5,045 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 102.1% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 16.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.8 %

MORN stock opened at $303.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $315.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.14.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 dividend yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 21.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

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.