Touchstone Capital Inc. Makes New Investment in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Touchstone Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 26,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,085,000. Morningstar accounts for 3.1% of Touchstone Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morningstar during the second quarter worth $29,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $215.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $202.89 and a 12-month high of $335.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $214.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.66.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $617.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $603.29 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 25.07% and a net margin of 15.70%.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 22.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.95, for a total transaction of $1,536,637.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,693,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,842,601,101.75. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 64,350 shares of company stock valued at $13,668,311 over the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.