Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $50.34 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,068 shares during the quarter. Morningstar makes up about 1.9% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned 0.40% of Morningstar worth $50,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,584,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 30,785.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,252,000 after purchasing an additional 143,770 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,829,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $282.56 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $301.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 20.45%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total transaction of $381,923.92. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,427,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,820,290.72. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 4,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,254.80. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,569 shares of company stock worth $16,333,474 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

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.