Panagora Asset Management Inc. Makes New $229,000 Investment in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $9,133,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 285,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $81,693,000 after acquiring an additional 68,574 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth approximately $3,961,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 44,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.94, for a total value of $2,950,098.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,832,014 shares in the company, valued at $3,216,458,237.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,357 shares of company stock worth $27,280,991. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $297.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.12 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $185.15 and a 52 week high of $316.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The company had revenue of $542.80 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MORN. TheStreet raised shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

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.