Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 17,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $307.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $326.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $330.26. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $281.37 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.455 dividend. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total transaction of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,247,495,275.46. This represents a 0.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,641 shares of company stock valued at $14,620,537. Company 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.