Bradyco Inc. Invests $1.64 Million in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Bradyco Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,864 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,000. Morningstar makes up approximately 1.2% of Bradyco Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,772,000 after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Morningstar Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $296.54 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $324.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.71. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $281.37 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid 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 yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.24%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,703 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,106. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.