Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV Buys 49 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 154.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth about $19,666,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter valued at about $9,366,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Morningstar by 217.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 42,189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,632,000 after buying an additional 28,894 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,300,963.20. This represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total value of $1,781,709.48. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,551,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,284,364,782.46. This trade represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,541 shares of company stock worth $20,234,838 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $340.07 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $269.51 and a 12 month high of $352.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $331.79 and its 200 day moving average is $312.64.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders 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 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 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.