Chicago Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Chicago Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 24.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,627 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC owned 0.17% of Morningstar worth $16,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Morningstar by 37.8% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.7%

MORN opened at $214.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.26 and a 200 day moving average of $244.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $202.89 and a 12 month high of $335.21. The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.95, for a total transaction of $1,536,637.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,693,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,842,601,101.75. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 64,350 shares of company stock worth $13,668,311 over the last ninety days. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.00.

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.