Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 80 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Morningstar by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 49,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,516,000 after buying an additional 7,416 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 6,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 25,261 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,507,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,168 shares of company stock worth $10,840,546. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $322.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $273.56 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 42.59 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $330.24 and a 200-day moving average of $329.73.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th.

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.