Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 67,889 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 975,193 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 67,889 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.27% of Morningstar worth $328,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 178.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ MORN traded down $3.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $305.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,416. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $290.68 and a 200 day moving average of $315.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.10, for a total transaction of $2,728,568.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,047,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,025,251,665.20. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,695 shares of company stock worth $21,620,366 over the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.