Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 282.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,931 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.05% of Morningstar worth $7,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 326.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $354.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 46.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $336.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $314.93. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.51 and a 52-week high of $359.50.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 21.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total value of $2,464,733.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,517,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,754,779.15. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,019 shares of company stock valued at $19,531,012. 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.