State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $3.52 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 295 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Morningstar by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,506,000 after buying an additional 1,963 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total value of $2,962,005.32. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MORN shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $280.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $291.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $321.51.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

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.