Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 154 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $304.12 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.17 and a beta of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $250.34 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $289.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.08.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total transaction of $2,728,568.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,047,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,025,251,665.20. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,345 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 65,983 shares of company stock valued at $19,940,225. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.