Mizuho Bank Ltd. Makes New Investment in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 280 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $94,000. Morningstar comprises approximately 0.0% of Mizuho Bank Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 7.6 %

MORN stock opened at $268.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $309.72 and a two-hundred day moving average 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 current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.