Cwm LLC Increases Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Cwm LLC raised its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 155.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,616 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 626,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $196,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,408 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $162,168,000 after purchasing an additional 253,137 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP boosted its position in Morningstar by 21.3% during the second quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 391,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $123,003,000 after purchasing an additional 68,896 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,224,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 691.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 293,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $92,286,000 after purchasing an additional 256,806 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MORN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.00.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $210.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.98. The stock has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94 and a beta of 1.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.89 and a 1-year high of $336.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.13. Morningstar had a return on equity of 25.07% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company had revenue of $617.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.29 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.71%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,286 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $274,072.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,600,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,005,692.80. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total transaction of $131,088.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $818,207.60. The trade was a 13.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 64,350 shares of company stock worth $13,668,311 in the last quarter. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.