Xponance Inc. Has $1.83 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MORN opened at $298.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $315.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $278.64 and a 12 month high of $365.00.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MORN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of 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 cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th.

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, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.