Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $346.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. Morningstar has a fifty-two week low of $269.51 and a fifty-two week high of $352.55. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $331.79 and a 200-day moving average of $312.64.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.60, for a total value of $233,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,344. The trade was a 4.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 5,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.27, for a total transaction of $1,781,709.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,551,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,284,364,782.46. This represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,541 shares of company stock valued at $20,234,838 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 21.9% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 245 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 3,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.2% in the third quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 183 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.