Fluent Financial LLC Buys 8,618 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Fluent Financial LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 150.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,618 shares during the period. Morningstar comprises approximately 0.8% of Fluent Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MORN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Morningstar by 278.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar by 2,450.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 58.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 138,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,615,000 after buying an additional 51,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.63, for a total value of $1,447,317.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,006,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,421,439.60. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total value of $199,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,567,896. This trade represents a 7.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 56,740 shares of company stock valued at $10,506,664 over the last 90 days. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.33.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $200.66 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $266.05. The company has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.