Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 659 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,001 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $7,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after buying an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Morningstar by 13.9% during 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 10.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 88,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,203,000 after purchasing an additional 33,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,698 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $299.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $326.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.14. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 39.51 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $281.37 and a twelve month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. 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 0.61%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MORN shares. 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 note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,080 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total value of $1,319,716.80. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,072,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,258,192,525.48. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,641 shares of company stock worth $14,620,537. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.