AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 5,531 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Morningstar, Inc. by 565.0%, owning a total of 6,510 shares valued at approximately $1.95 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Morningstar reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.40, surpassing the consensus estimate, with quarterly revenue of $605.10 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.455, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 19.38%.

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 565.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,510 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,230,000 after buying an additional 4,906 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Morningstar by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 29,886 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Morningstar by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $102,719,000 after purchasing an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,095 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Morningstar stock traded up $4.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $265.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,680. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24 and a beta of 0.96. 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 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $283.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.28.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.50, for a total value of $1,859,625.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,373,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,404,219,387.50. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,619 shares of company stock valued at $19,241,523. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MORN. Wall Street Zen cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.67.

About Morningstar

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.