Allianz Asset Management GmbH Purchases New Shares in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has acquired a new stake in Morningstar, purchasing 16,713 shares valued at approximately $5.25 million in the second quarter.
• Institutional investors own 57.02% of Morningstar's stock, with several funds, including Millennium Management and Charles Schwab Investment Management, significantly increasing their stakes during the first quarter.
• Morningstar reported $2.40 EPS for its latest quarter, beating the analysts' consensus estimates, while its stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $355.00.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,713 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,247,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 88.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,795 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $162,168,000 after buying an additional 253,137 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,465 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $58,914,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 170,068 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $50,341,000 after buying an additional 20,068 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at $38,269,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,257 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,763,000 after buying an additional 10,920 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $355.00.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock opened at $219.97 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $242.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43 and a beta of 1.00. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $210.02 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,705 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total value of $1,747,658.25. Following the sale, the chairman owned 9,312,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,427,390,703.40. The trade was a 0.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 85,500 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,957 over the last 90 days. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.

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