Nordea Investment Management AB Raises Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.13% of Morningstar worth $19,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV grew its holdings in Morningstar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $322.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $343.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total value of $2,974,329.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.