Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,593 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.06% of Morningstar worth $6,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 14.9% during the third quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,441 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $294,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $211.24 on Tuesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $202.89 and a 1 year high of $335.21. The stock has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $234.68.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $617.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 announced 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. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price objective on Morningstar 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,286 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total transaction of $274,072.32. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,600,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,833,005,692.80. The trade was a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total value of $131,088.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $818,207.60. This trade represents a 13.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 64,350 shares of company stock worth $13,668,311 over the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Profile

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.