Cerity Partners LLC Has $2.02 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 16.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in Morningstar by 102.1% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV grew its position in Morningstar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,196,000 after purchasing an additional 5,045 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in 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 buying an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $2,481,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. 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. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 23rd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.94, for a total value of $225,629.74. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,532,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. The trade was a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,019 shares of company stock worth $19,531,012. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $354.15 on Monday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $359.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $336.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78 and a beta of 1.18.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 Announces Dividend

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

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.