Premier Fund Managers Ltd Buys New Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 150,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,694,000. Morningstar accounts for about 1.8% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $302.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $278.64 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $313.96 and a 200-day moving average of $327.77.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 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.