Level Four Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $111,694,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,694,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $222,115,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $944,144,000 after acquiring an additional 51,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,497,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ MORN opened at $296.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $278.64 and a 1-year high of $365.00. 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 fifty day moving average price is $313.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $327.85.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

Morningstar 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.