Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases 2,927 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 36,832 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,927 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $12,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 178.6% during the 4th 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 bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value of $1,182,974.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $305.26 on Wednesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $278.64 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $315.01 and a 200-day moving average of $328.15.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.24%.

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.