Royce & Associates LP Has $41.24 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,533 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 33,147 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.32% of Morningstar worth $41,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,694,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 30,785.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,252,000 after buying an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 130,087 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,345 shares in the company, valued at $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% 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, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total transaction of $381,923.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,427,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,820,290.72. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,569 shares of company stock valued at $16,333,474 over the last three months. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $278.03. 243,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 317,657. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $301.89 and a 200 day moving average of $302.71. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a $0.455 dividend. 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 0.65%. Morningstar's payout ratio is 20.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

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.