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

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORNGet Free Report) 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:MORNGet Free Report) 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

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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