Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MORN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Morningstar by 3.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,552,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $597,981,000 after acquiring an additional 75,275 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,957,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,481,000 after purchasing an additional 19,119 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,326,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,745,000 after purchasing an additional 98,191 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 60.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,007,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,055,000 after buying an additional 380,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Morningstar by 43.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 389,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,266,000 after buying an additional 117,514 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.07, for a total transaction of $1,454,252.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,776,823 shares in the company, valued at $3,352,346,330.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.72, for a total transaction of $2,386,944.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,758,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,702,064.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.07, for a total transaction of $1,454,252.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,776,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,352,346,330.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,943 shares of company stock valued at $28,185,404 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $294.03. 97,591 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,613. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.21. The company has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 59.40 and a beta of 1.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.48 and a 1 year high of $316.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $542.80 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 10.13%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 32.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

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.