Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $226.86 and last traded at $224.14, with a volume of 7,981 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $222.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Morningstar Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.16. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.02.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $672.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.75 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 44.52% and a net margin of 17.00%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total transaction of $1,662,315.56. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 7,960,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,789,448.20. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451. Corporate insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $846,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Morningstar by 11.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 183,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,033,000 after acquiring an additional 19,264 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at about $903,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 25,817 shares during the period. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 150.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.