Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 1,789 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $5,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 326.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MORN shares. StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group started coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a report 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $346.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.64. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $269.51 and a 12-month high of $352.55. The company has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.92 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (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%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.67, for a total transaction of $92,584.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,788,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,030,637.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,541 shares of company stock worth $20,234,838. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.