Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Acquired by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $383,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after purchasing an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at $19,666,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at $9,366,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 217.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 42,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,632,000 after buying an additional 28,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 1,274,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,743 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 12,742 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.3 %

MORN stock opened at $340.07 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $352.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $331.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.45.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 275 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.67, for a total transaction of $92,584.25. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,788,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,030,637.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,541 shares of company stock valued at $20,234,838. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

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.