Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,158 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $303,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 7.3% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 754 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,056 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total value of $2,464,733.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,517,257 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,754,779.15. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,244 shares of company stock worth $19,288,505 over the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $358.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $339.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $361.73. The firm has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.40%.

About Morningstar

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.