OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Invests $741,000 in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $741,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $468,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 19.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $309.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $250.34 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 20.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MORN shares. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $2,751,980.77. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,096,098 shares in the company, valued at $3,310,409,573.22. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 79,947 shares of company stock worth $24,690,718 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

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.