9,515 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Acquired by Aurora Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Aurora Investment Counsel acquired 9,515 Morningstar shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.485 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.02% of the company.
• Morningstar’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.10 versus the $2.83 consensus estimate and revenue of $663.2 million, above the $649.72 million forecast.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Morningstar holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $227.33 average price target, while Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto and other insiders sold shares during the quarter.

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,515 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,485,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total value of $1,662,315.56. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,960,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,789,448.20. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 72,466 shares of company stock valued at $14,672,238. Insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Stock Up 2.4%

MORN stock opened at $213.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.49 and a 52-week high of $266.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.27. Morningstar had a return on equity of 38.57% and a net margin of 16.43%.The business had revenue of $663.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.72 million.

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.

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