Acadian Asset Management LLC Purchases 62 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 73.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $320.69 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $219.45 and a 1-year high of $330.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a PE ratio of 64.79 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $311.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.08.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.98, for a total value of $86,124.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,925 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,646.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.21, for a total transaction of $220,657.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,660,286.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.98, for a total value of $86,124.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,646.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,231 shares of company stock worth $19,488,988. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.