Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $10.46 Million Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 977 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Morningstar worth $10,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.03, for a total value of $2,927,297.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,085,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,257,959,766.78. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,254.80. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,085 shares of company stock worth $21,790,680. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock opened at $310.65 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $250.34 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $13.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.04 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $288.49 and its 200-day moving average is $316.98.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

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.