Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Holdings Cut by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co decreased its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $944,144,000 after buying an additional 51,598 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $189,116,000 after purchasing an additional 64,020 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $111,694,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,719,000 after purchasing an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $2,751,980.77. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,096,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,310,409,573.22. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,503 shares of company stock worth $19,953,122. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $303.80 on Monday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $250.34 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.91. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MORN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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.