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

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

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $313.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $327.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.03. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $281.37 and a 52-week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,641 shares of company stock worth $14,620,537. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $111,694,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,584,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,694,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Morningstar by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.