SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Morningstar by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 754 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MORN. Redburn Atlantic lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total value of $513,424.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 12,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,980.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,541 shares of company stock worth $18,399,192. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $340.08 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $314.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.82. The stock has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.70 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $219.45 and a 12 month high of $340.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company had revenue of $571.90 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is 32.73%.

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.