GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases New Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 125 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Morningstar by 60.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,007,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,055,000 after purchasing an additional 380,391 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $81,798,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Morningstar by 43.2% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 389,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $91,266,000 after acquiring an additional 117,514 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in Morningstar by 8.0% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,326,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $310,745,000 after acquiring an additional 98,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morningstar by 76.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 206,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,284,000 after acquiring an additional 89,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total value of $383,512.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at $13,630,647.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,297 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.69, for a total value of $399,073.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,775,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,315,521,594.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,943 shares of company stock worth $28,185,404. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $294.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.40 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $302.00 and its 200-day moving average is $282.54. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.48 and a 1-year high of $316.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $542.80 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 10.13%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.73%.

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.