Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 10,437 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,437 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.16% of Morningstar worth $158,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total value of $2,974,329.64. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,411 shares of company stock worth $17,961,104 in the last three months. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $355.53 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $343.52 and its 200 day moving average is $319.33. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.51 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.97 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

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.