MML Investors Services LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock worth $17,961,104. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $337.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.58 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $344.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $320.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

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.