Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 212.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,390 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,024 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $944,144,000 after purchasing an additional 51,598 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Morningstar by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $363,903,000 after buying an additional 130,087 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,431 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $189,116,000 after purchasing an additional 64,020 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,694,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,495 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.44, for a total transaction of $814,467.80. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,133,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,307,931,753.32. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 61,443 shares of company stock worth $19,164,301 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Morningstar stock traded up $7.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $305.16. 194,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 138,522. The company's fifty day moving average is $286.24 and its 200-day moving average is $318.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. 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 $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

About Morningstar

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.