Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

MORN has been the topic of several other research reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $337.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.32. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $264.79 and a 1-year high of $352.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.12, for a total transaction of $1,937,953.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,574,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,300,577,548.84. The trade was a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total value of $248,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,195 shares of company stock valued at $23,252,260. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,772,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 7.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 2.4% in the third quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 10,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 80.2% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Company 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.