Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

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

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

Morningstar Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $328.47 on Wednesday. Morningstar has a 52 week low of $269.51 and a 52 week high of $365.00. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $342.09 and its 200-day moving average is $326.10. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,261,339.20. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,845,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,559,781,561.96. The trade was a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744. 37.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 101.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 73.8% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 93.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.