Wasatch Advisors LP Has $222.12 Million Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 1.62% of Morningstar worth $222,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&G Plc grew its position in Morningstar by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth $1,207,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Morningstar by 259.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 9,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 295.4% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.94, for a total value of $225,629.74. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,532,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. This trade represents a 0.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,019 shares of company stock worth $19,531,012 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $354.15 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.51 and a 12 month high of $359.50. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $336.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 46.78 and a beta of 1.18.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS 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 business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

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 dividend yield of 0.46%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Profile

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.