Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $3.13 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% during the third 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. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after buying an additional 5,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Morningstar by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,666,000 after buying an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Morningstar by 13.9% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after acquiring an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MORN. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $355.53 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $269.51 and a 1 year high of $365.00. 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 $343.52 and its 200-day moving average is $319.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.62 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.13, for a total value of $40,371.34. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,788,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,691,027,765.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.