Captrust Financial Advisors Acquires 314 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $301,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 7.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 88,679 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,299,000 after buying an additional 6,205 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,159 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,838,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Morningstar by 282.2% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 22,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,318,000 after buying an additional 16,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 16.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total transaction of $2,985,475.90. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,836,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,570,136,319.20. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,188 shares of company stock worth $16,823,772 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MORN opened at $358.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.29 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $361.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $339.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released 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). The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.