BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $1.46 Million Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,650 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $468,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Morningstar by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $2,751,980.77. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,096,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,310,409,573.22. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 79,947 shares of company stock worth $24,690,718 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $309.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $288.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.10. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $250.34 and a 1 year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.07 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MORN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Morningstar Company 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.