Arizona State Retirement System Sells 115 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MORN. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 7,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Morningstar by 55.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 194 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.23, for a total value of $2,070,908.10. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,927,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.23, for a total value of $2,070,908.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,927,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of Morningstar 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at $13,630,647.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515 over the last three months. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.0 %

MORN stock opened at $309.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.37. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.43 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.28 and a fifty-two week high of $316.05.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

About Morningstar

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.