1,771 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Purchased by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,771 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 326.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total transaction of $3,219,003.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,814,431,929.28. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,188 shares of company stock valued at $16,823,772. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock traded down $5.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $352.91. 138,236 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 120,320. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.62 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.11. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $362.01.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

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.