Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $5.79 Million in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 17,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,790,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 12.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Morningstar by 259.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,394,000 after buying an additional 9,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,181,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $307.00 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $281.37 and a 12-month high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $326.98 and a 200-day moving average of $330.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total value of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,247,495,275.46. The trade was a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,641 shares of company stock worth $14,620,537 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

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.