Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Position Increased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,886 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.07% of Morningstar worth $10,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Morningstar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Morningstar by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Morningstar by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total transaction of $2,557,749.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last three months. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.7 %

MORN opened at $278.74 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $290.43 and its 200-day moving average is $320.99. The company has a market capitalization of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.82 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Morningstar 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.