Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $248.25 and last traded at $247.4640, with a volume of 11,099 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $244.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.54. The company has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 0.91.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.44. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 45.17%. The business had revenue of $672.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.75 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total value of $1,662,315.56. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 7,960,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,789,448.20. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,132 shares of company stock worth $19,369,045. 38.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter worth $846,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth about $903,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Morningstar by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 183,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,033,000 after buying an additional 19,264 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in Morningstar by 182.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 39,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,239,000 after buying an additional 25,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 150.0% during the second quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,241,000 after acquiring an additional 8,618 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Morningstar

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.