Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Bank of Montreal Can lowered its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Morningstar by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 271 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $275.37 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.75. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. 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.