StockNews.com Upgrades Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) to “Buy”

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MORN. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $339.81 on Friday. Morningstar has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $344.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $323.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01). Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.22, for a total value of $2,974,329.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at $3,559,781,561.96. This trade represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,661 shares of company stock worth $17,723,744 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 101.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.