Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys New Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $836,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 2.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,196,000 after buying an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $468,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total transaction of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,838,335.36. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $296.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $313.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $327.85. 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 announced 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 firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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.

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.