7,383 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,713,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning increased its position in Morningstar by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 32.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 22,109 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 17.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 236,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $74,191,000 after buying an additional 35,561 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 70,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,251,000 after acquiring an additional 13,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 88,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,392,000 after acquiring an additional 27,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $189.86 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.08 and a 52-week high of $316.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 27.94%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total transaction of $1,173,241.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,184,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,629,973.56. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,243 shares of company stock worth $14,219,154. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.50.

Morningstar 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.