Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

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

Morningstar Stock Up 1.4 %

Morningstar stock opened at $291.09 on Monday. Morningstar has a fifty-two week low of $278.64 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $317.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $328.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.45 and a beta of 1.23.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,328,450,736.80. The trade was a 0.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Morningstar by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.