Headlands Technologies LLC Has $2.10 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC significantly increased its ownership in Morningstar, Inc. by acquiring an additional 6,829 shares, representing a total increase of 4,017.1% and bringing their holdings to 6,999 shares valued at approximately $2,099,000.
• Institutional investors now hold 57.02% of Morningstar's stock, with notable investments from Hughes Financial Services LLC and Larson Financial Group LLC, which raised their stakes by 5,066.7%.
• Morningstar recently reported earnings of $2.40 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.455, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 4,017.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,999 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,829 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Morningstar by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 230,149 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $77,505,000 after buying an additional 36,133 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,465 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $58,914,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Morningstar by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 194,182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $65,393,000 after buying an additional 77,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 188,370 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,435,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.86, for a total transaction of $2,246,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,442,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,925,924,627.66. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 50,398 shares of company stock worth $15,079,996 over the last 90 days. 36.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $1.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $258.92. 239,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 351,141. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $294.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.96. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 23.54%. The firm had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's payout ratio is 19.38%.

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.