Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Position Increased by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $6,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 326.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 101.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $355.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $335.39 and its 200-day moving average is $314.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.98 and a beta of 1.18. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $359.50.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total value of $40,371.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,788,378 shares in the company, valued at $3,691,027,765.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,019 shares of company stock worth $19,531,012. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.