Boston Financial Management LLC Increases Stake in Morningstar, Inc.

Boston Financial Mangement LLC has increased its investment in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, as detailed in the firm's most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As of this filing, Boston Financial Mangement LLC owned a total of 65,924 shares of Morningstar, having purchased an additional 4,299 shares during the quarter. This positions their ownership at approximately 0.15% of Morningstar, which is valued at around $22,201,000.

In addition to Boston Financial, several other hedge funds have recently adjusted their holdings in Morningstar. For example, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position by 9.3%, now owning 1,201,708 shares worth roughly $383,489,000 after acquiring an extra 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP also expanded its stake by 13.9% with a total of 696,023 shares valued at $222,115,000, increasing their holdings by 85,098 shares.

FMR LLC increased their holdings in Morningstar by 10.9%, with ownership now totaling 400,520 shares valued at $127,814,000, after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares. DF Dent & Co. Inc. significantly raised its stake by 61.3%, owning 88,378 shares worth about $28,203,000 after adding 33,595 shares. Also, State Street Corp raised its shares by 3.7%, now owning 804,293 shares valued at $256,666,000 after buying 28,698 additional shares. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors now own 57.02% of Morningstar's stock.

Updates on Analyst Ratings

In recent developments, StockNews.com has downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" to a "hold" rating. Currently, there are two analysts who have rated the stock as a hold while two others have given it a buy rating. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price set at $360.67.

Insider Transactions

In related news, Chief Financial Officer Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock on December 13th, at an average price of $352.88, totaling $1,137,332.24. Post-transaction, Dubinsky holds 17,304 shares, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52, indicating a 15.70% decrease in his ownership. This information is disclosed in an SEC filing. Additionally, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares on February 12th at an average price of $320.57, amounting to $410,329.60. After this sale, he continues to directly own 10,130,378 shares, valued at around $3,247,495,275.46, marking a minimal decrease of 0.01% in ownership. Over the past 90 days, insiders have sold a total of 23,106 shares worth approximately $7,878,540, and insiders currently own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar’s Stock Performance

Morningstar shares opened at $328.45 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average stands at $331.48, while the two-hundred-day simple moving average is at $329.41. With a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, Morningstar holds a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has experienced a 12-month low of $269.51 and a high of $365.00. Morningstar has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Dividend Announcement

Morningstar also announced a quarterly dividend, which is set to be paid on October 31st. Shareholders on record as of October 3rd will receive a dividend of $0.455. This reflects an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is also on October 3rd, which translates to an annualized dividend of $1.82, yielding about 0.55%. The company's dividend payout ratio stands at 24.04%.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc. provides independent investment insights across various regions including the United States and internationally. The firm operates in five key segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics, PitchBook, Morningstar Wealth, Morningstar Credit, and Morningstar Retirement.

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