Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 343 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MORN. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 42.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Morningstar by 25.6% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,549,000 after buying an additional 3,085 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 19.8% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.4% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 105,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock traded down $14.90 on Thursday, reaching $287.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 196,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,526. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.28 and a 52 week high of $316.05. The company has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.64 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $300.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $279.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $542.80 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 49.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.39, for a total transaction of $1,935,055.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,934,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,055,125,738.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,297 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.69, for a total value of $399,073.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,775,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,521,594.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.39, for a total value 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,544 shares of company stock valued at $27,733,515. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MORN shares. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

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.