Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 611 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 492.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 735 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 611 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 326.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 111 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.18, for a total value of $1,907,419.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,539,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,289,165.24. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,817 shares of company stock worth $18,453,128. Insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $354.74 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $333.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $313.95. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $357.06. The stock has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.86 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.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted 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). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.