Meeder Asset Management Inc. Makes New $106,000 Investment in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 331 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 326.9% during the second 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 period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter valued at $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $335.77 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.28. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $352.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.36 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total transaction of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,344. This represents a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,541 shares of company stock worth $20,234,838. Company insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.