Blue Trust Inc. Buys 139 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 125.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter worth $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 73.8% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MORN. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $330.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.71 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $322.48 and a 200 day moving average of $307.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $247.16 and a fifty-two week high of $349.07.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total value of $2,742,523.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,217,579,503.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,532,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total value of $2,742,523.68. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,579,503.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 57,547 shares of company stock valued at $17,771,996. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.