Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $223.27 and last traded at $223.4190, with a volume of 36,146 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MORN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 4.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total value of $1,238,415.56. Following the sale, the chairman owned 7,938,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,737,193,937.28. The trade was a 0.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $545,937,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter worth about $324,792,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Morningstar by 9.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 517,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,514,000 after purchasing an additional 45,798 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 38.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 448,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,881,000 after purchasing an additional 125,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 38.5% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 394,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,763,000 after purchasing an additional 109,833 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and financial technology. The company serves asset managers, financial advisors, institutions, retirement plans, and individual investors with information designed to support investment analysis and decision-making.

Its products and services include research and ratings on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, and other investments; portfolio analysis and planning tools; investment-management and advisory services; and software and data solutions for financial professionals and institutions.