Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,614 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $10,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 93.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total transaction of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,247,495,275.46. This trade represents a 0.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,106 shares of company stock worth $7,878,540 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $325.02 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a PE ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $333.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.22.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

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.