BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 1.6% during the 2nd 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. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its holdings in Morningstar by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MORN. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. 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. Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ MORN opened at $358.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $269.51 and a one year high of $361.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $316.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.35 billion, a PE ratio of 47.29 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.455 dividend. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.22, for a total value of $3,219,003.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,738,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,814,431,929.28. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,244 shares of company stock worth $19,288,505. 39.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.