New York State Teachers Retirement System Increases Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the first quarter worth $425,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the first quarter worth $387,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 1.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,069,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,213,000 after purchasing an additional 16,952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 1,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $297.01 on Wednesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.28 and a fifty-two week high of $316.05. The company has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.55 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.27. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $538.70 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,927,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,668 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.69, for a total value of $2,136,994.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,916,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,042,233,269.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,544 shares of company stock valued at $27,733,515. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

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.