Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 7,579 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 120.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,579 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock opened at $346.21 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $269.51 and a twelve month high of $352.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $332.50 and its 200-day moving average is $313.06. The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were issued a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total transaction of $233,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,344. This trade represents a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total transaction of $1,781,709.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,551,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,284,364,782.46. This trade represents a 0.05 % 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 valued at $20,234,838. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.