100,185 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Bought by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 100,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,829,000. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.23% of Morningstar as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Morningstar by 339.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 117,156 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,453,000 after buying an additional 90,466 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $50,694,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $111,694,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $301.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $312.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $327.89. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $278.64 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83 and a beta of 1.23. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

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.