Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $6,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,007,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,055,000 after purchasing an additional 380,391 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,798,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 389,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,266,000 after purchasing an additional 117,514 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,326,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $310,745,000 after purchasing an additional 98,191 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,284,000 after acquiring an additional 89,099 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MORN shares. TheStreet raised shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $286.29. The stock had a trading volume of 110,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,408. The firm has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.84 and a beta of 1.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.28 and a 12 month high of $316.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $301.12 and its 200 day moving average is $280.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.65, for a total value of $1,021,892.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,883,563 shares in the company, valued at $2,967,403,451.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.65, for a total transaction of $1,021,892.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,883,563 shares in the company, valued at $2,967,403,451.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.39, for a total transaction of $1,935,055.14. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,934,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,125,738.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.