Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $158,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 326.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 38.0% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 55.6% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MORN. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.45, for a total transaction of $2,985,475.90. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,836,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,570,136,319.20. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $355.53 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $343.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.97 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 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.