Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 3,302 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $5,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 5,066.7% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 172.3% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at $95,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.7%

Morningstar stock opened at $262.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $287.00 and its 200 day moving average is $295.30.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.22%.The company had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.38%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $1,875,212.50. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,354,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,601,173.15. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 60,647 shares of company stock valued at $15,953,582 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 36.20% 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.