Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 343 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 42.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 25.6% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 19.8% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.4% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 105,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Morningstar Stock Down 4.9 %

Morningstar stock traded down $14.90 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $287.46. 196,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,526. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.28 and a 52-week high of $316.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.64 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $300.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $542.80 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 18.54%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 49.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.07, for a total value of $1,454,252.25. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,776,823 shares in the company, valued at $3,352,346,330.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.07, for a total transaction of $1,454,252.25. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,776,823 shares in the company, valued at $3,352,346,330.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.