Quest Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 1,274,200.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,742 shares during the period. Morningstar comprises about 0.4% of Quest Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $325,288,000 after purchasing an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 154.0% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,727,000 after purchasing an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Morningstar by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $80,492,000 after purchasing an additional 4,722 shares during the period. M&G PLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 182,808 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $58,316,000 after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.9 %

MORN stock traded down $3.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $334.37. The company had a trading volume of 244,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 119,135. The company has a market capitalization of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $352.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.69. 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 - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.12, for a total transaction of $1,937,953.08. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,574,707 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,577,548.84. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,475 shares of company stock valued at $22,080,207. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company 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.