Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Position Raised by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 16.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,627 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,011 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.10% of Morningstar worth $13,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 194,122 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at $52,293,000. Boston Financial Mangement LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $19,666,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,366,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $9,070,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.70, for a total value of $1,559,149.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,620,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,236,120,891.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 57,547 shares of company stock worth $17,771,996. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ MORN traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $328.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,504. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.38 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 1.05. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $255.52 and a 52-week high of $349.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $323.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. 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.