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 report released on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $337.57 on Friday. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $264.79 and a 52-week high of $352.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.59 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $329.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.32. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $569.40 million during 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, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.90, for a total transaction of $1,212,424.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,581,130 shares in the company, valued at $3,342,578,967. This trade represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,195 shares of company stock worth $23,252,260. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 60.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,911,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the first quarter valued at approximately $427,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.