State Street Corp Grows Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

State Street Corp raised its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 804,293 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 1.88% of Morningstar worth $256,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 5,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,766,000 after buying an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 14,434 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,568,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,607,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar 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. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,188 shares of company stock valued at $16,823,772 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 37.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MORN has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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, Morningstar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Morningstar stock traded up $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $358.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 174,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 120,341. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $362.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $341.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.98. 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 company has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.24 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (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 for the quarter.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Morningstar's dividend 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.