Premier Fund Managers Ltd Takes $50.69 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 150,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $50,694,000. Morningstar makes up 1.8% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned about 0.35% of Morningstar as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MORN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $111,694,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $944,144,000 after purchasing an additional 51,598 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,497,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after buying an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut 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. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $302.01 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $278.64 and a one year high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.90 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $313.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $327.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

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.