MML Investors Services LLC Buys 281 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 326.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,411 shares of company stock valued at $17,961,104 in the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Trading Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $337.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.58 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $344.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $320.37.

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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is an increase from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

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.