Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,416 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $16,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 93.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,106 shares of company stock valued at $7,878,540. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MORN opened at $325.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a PE ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.22.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Morningstar 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.