Teacher Retirement System of Texas Cuts Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 772 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Morningstar by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 896 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,292 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 12,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.12, for a total value of $3,771,218.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,859,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,336,058.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 12,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.12, for a total value of $3,771,218.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,859,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,336,058.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $1,570,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,687,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,206,379,300. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,984 shares of company stock valued at $29,544,455 in the last quarter. Insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MORN. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $299.18 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 60.44 and a beta of 1.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $185.15 and a 1-year high of $316.05.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

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

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.