Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 88,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,203,000 after acquiring an additional 33,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total value of $1,319,716.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,072,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,258,192,525.48. The trade was a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,641 shares of company stock valued at $14,620,537. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $313.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $281.37 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $327.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.17. The company has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 41.44 and a beta of 1.20.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

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.