Smith Group Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,390 Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,390 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 63.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $326.48 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total transaction of $2,985,475.90. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,836,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,136,319.20. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,911 shares of company stock worth $17,474,834 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.