Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Has $2.11 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 224 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Martin Capital Advisors LLP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 4,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet raised Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total value of $383,512.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.23, for a total transaction of $2,070,908.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,927,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.9 %

Morningstar stock traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $300.34. The stock had a trading volume of 79,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 127,229. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $299.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.20. The company has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 1.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.28 and a 12 month high of $316.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $538.70 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.39%.

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.