Tidal Investments LLC Increases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,727,000 after purchasing an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morningstar by 13.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,666,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $338.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $344.71 and a 200 day moving average of $321.54. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.51 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of 44.77 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 24.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $237,360.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,411 shares of company stock worth $17,961,104. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.