Alberta Investment Management Corp Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $322.38 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $273.56 and a 1 year high of $365.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $329.54. The firm has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.59 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,168 shares of company stock valued at $10,840,546 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is currently 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.