M&G Plc Purchases 9,703 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

M&G PLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,808 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned about 0.43% of Morningstar worth $58,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Morningstar by 326.9% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $1.14 on Thursday, hitting $343.27. The company had a trading volume of 75,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,548. The stock has a market cap of $14.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $324.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.92. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $259.50 and a 1-year high of $349.07. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar's payout ratio is 21.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.30, for a total value of $1,571,989.70. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,610,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,239,402,441.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,149 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.30, for a total value of $1,571,989.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,610,555 shares in the company, valued at $3,239,402,441.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,492 shares of company stock worth $19,430,128. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company's stock.

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.