AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 5,403 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 70.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total transaction of $410,329.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,247,495,275.46. This represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 66,198 shares of company stock worth $20,504,896 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock opened at $303.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $286.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.17. 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 12-month low of $250.34 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MORN. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

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.