Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,085 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Morningstar by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 288,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,997,000 after purchasing an additional 5,169 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 65,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Morningstar by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth approximately $423,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Morningstar by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $307.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $326.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $330.26. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $281.37 and a 12-month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This trade represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,641 shares of company stock valued at $14,620,537. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.