Verition Fund Management LLC Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 326.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MORN opened at $358.47 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $362.01. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $342.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total value of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,188 shares of company stock worth $16,823,772 in the last three months. Insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.