Congress Asset Management Co. Purchases 6,011 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 16.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,011 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.10% of Morningstar worth $13,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,288,000 after purchasing an additional 4,822 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 154.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Morningstar by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,492,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the period. M&G Plc lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.0% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 173,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,239,000 after buying an additional 3,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 128,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,874,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total transaction of $2,742,523.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,631,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,579,503.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total value of $233,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total transaction of $2,742,523.68. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,631,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,579,503.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,547 shares of company stock valued at $17,771,996 over the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.7 %

Morningstar stock opened at $328.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $247.16 and a 1-year high of $349.07. The company has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.34 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

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.