Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 5,057 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,057 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $5,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Morningstar by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $282.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $300.22 and its 200 day moving average is $324.36. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

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.