Sei Investments Co. Buys 1,884 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 136,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $46,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $303.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $315.40 and a 200-day moving average of $328.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.11 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $278.64 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio 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.