Mackenzie Financial Corp Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,716 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $915,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth 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 during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 6,806 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total transaction of $61,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total transaction of $2,557,749.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,038,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,633 shares of company stock valued at $18,891,798 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.1%

MORN stock traded down $3.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $306.66. The company had a trading volume of 162,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 144,301. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $291.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.39. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51 and a beta of 1.02.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $581.90 million during 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 company also recently declared 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 a positive change from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Morningstar's payout ratio is 20.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

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.