Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Has $3.95 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,643 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,694,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $363,903,000 after buying an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $33,829,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Morningstar by 339.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 117,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,453,000 after buying an additional 90,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of MORN opened at $268.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $309.72 and its 200-day moving average is $327.24. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $259.40 and a 12 month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 over the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MORN. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a 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.