Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $2.48 Million in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,481,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,727,000 after acquiring an additional 194,122 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at about $19,666,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at about $9,366,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Morningstar by 217.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 42,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,632,000 after buying an additional 28,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 1,274,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 12,743 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,067,000 after buying an additional 12,742 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ MORN opened at $346.21 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $332.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $313.06. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $352.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total value of $1,781,709.48. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,551,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,284,364,782.46. The trade was a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total value of $233,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,468,344. This represents a 4.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,541 shares of company stock worth $20,234,838. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.