Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 7,579 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 120.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,879 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,579 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 154.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,727,000 after acquiring an additional 194,122 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,666,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth $9,366,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Morningstar by 217.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 42,189 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,632,000 after purchasing an additional 28,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC raised its position in Morningstar by 5.6% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 182,808 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $58,316,000 after acquiring an additional 9,703 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total value of $40,371.34. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,788,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,691,027,765.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,541 shares of company stock worth $20,234,838. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $346.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $352.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.06.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Morningstar's payout ratio is 21.40%.

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.