Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. Takes Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,308,000. Morningstar comprises approximately 0.2% of Consolidated Press International Holdings Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $127,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39,263 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 154.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 320,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,727,000 after acquiring an additional 194,122 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 272,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $80,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,722 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 191,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,196,000 after acquiring an additional 5,045 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total value of $2,464,733.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,517,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,217,754,779.15. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,019 shares of company stock valued at $19,531,012 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.4 %

MORN opened at $354.15 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 46.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $336.06 and a 200-day moving average of $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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.