Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 2,430 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,195 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.45% of Morningstar worth $65,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 93.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Morningstar by 14.2% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Morningstar by 7.4% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Morningstar by 75.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Morningstar by 30.7% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,703 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,106 over the last three months. 37.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MORN. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN opened at $284.43 on Wednesday. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $278.64 and a one year high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.23.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $580.81 million.

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.