National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 92.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,113 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,005 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Morningstar worth $8,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Morningstar by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $303,327,000 after purchasing an additional 5,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,115,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.
In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,188 shares of company stock valued at $16,823,772 in the last quarter. 37.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
MORN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $360.67.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on MORN
Morningstar stock opened at $358.47 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $342.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.26. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $269.51 and a 1-year high of $362.01. The company has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.
Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The company 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%.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.455 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.04%.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Morningstar, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Morningstar wasn't on the list.
While Morningstar currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.