Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Reduces Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 93.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,597 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,576,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $737,546,000 after purchasing an additional 23,812 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 0.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,099,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $325,288,000 after buying an additional 4,822 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Morningstar by 5.3% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 562,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $173,334,000 after acquiring an additional 28,164 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Morningstar by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 509,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $145,835,000 after acquiring an additional 160,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,727,000 after acquiring an additional 194,122 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,160,980.63. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total value of $2,742,523.68. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,579,503.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total value of $513,424.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 12,967 shares in the company, valued at $4,160,980.63. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,541 shares of company stock worth $18,399,192. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $340.08 on Monday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $219.45 and a 1 year high of $340.97. The company has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.70 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $314.49 and a 200-day moving average of $304.82.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $571.90 million during 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 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 is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

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.