Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 970 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,045 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 12.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 259.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 9,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter valued at $3,181,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.45, for a total transaction of $3,157,653.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,808,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,766,250,746.35. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,849 shares of company stock worth $14,500,504 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.6 %

MORN opened at $328.64 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $339.20 and a 200-day moving average of $328.40. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is a boost from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 24.04%.

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.