Dearborn Partners LLC Purchases 272 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during 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. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $16,497,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 61.3% during the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 88,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,203,000 after purchasing an additional 33,595 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $284.43 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $321.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $329.38. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total transaction of $2,728,568.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,047,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,025,251,665.20. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,703 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,106. 37.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.