Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Separately, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ MORN opened at $305.26 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $315.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total transaction of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MORN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $944,144,000 after buying an additional 51,598 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.7% during 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 during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $189,116,000 after purchasing an additional 64,020 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.