Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. cut its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,501 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $9,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter worth approximately $545,937,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $324,792,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Morningstar by 9.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 517,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,514,000 after purchasing an additional 45,798 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 38.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 448,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,881,000 after purchasing an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position 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 worth $66,763,000 after purchasing an additional 109,833 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ MORN opened at $246.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $248.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.08.

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,789,448.20. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 quarter, insiders have sold 74,658 shares of company stock valued at $16,263,275. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.67.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, ratings and investment-management tools. The company serves individual investors, financial advisers, asset managers, retirement plan providers and institutions.

Its offerings include investment and portfolio data, mutual fund and exchange-traded fund research, software for financial professionals, and wealth-management services. Morningstar also provides credit ratings through DBRS Morningstar and sustainability research through Sustainalytics.

Founded in 1984 by Joe Mansueto, Morningstar serves clients in markets around the world.