Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $2.09 Million in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 3.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,552,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $597,981,000 after purchasing an additional 75,275 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Morningstar by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,957,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $458,481,000 after purchasing an additional 19,119 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,326,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $310,745,000 after acquiring an additional 98,191 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,148,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,170,000 after acquiring an additional 43,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 60.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,007,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,055,000 after acquiring an additional 380,391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $294.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.89 and a beta of 1.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.28 and a 1 year high of $316.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $298.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.40.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $538.70 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 18.54% and a net margin of 6.92%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 49.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MORN. TheStreet upgraded Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total value of $383,512.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.65, for a total value of $1,021,892.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,883,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,967,403,451.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,544 shares of company stock worth $27,733,515. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.