M&G Plc Purchases 9,703 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

M&G Plc raised its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 182,808 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc owned 0.43% of Morningstar worth $58,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Morningstar by 0.4% in the second 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $94,727,000 after acquiring an additional 194,122 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,722 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 128,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 107,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $344.41 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $324.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.92. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $259.50 and a one year high of $349.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.50 and a beta of 1.18. 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) last announced 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 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.94, for a total value of $225,629.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,532,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.94, for a total value of $225,629.74. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,532,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,492 shares of company stock valued at $19,430,128. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

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.