AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morningstar, Inc. by 183.7%, owning approximately 37,163 shares valued at $10.93 million as of the latest 13F filing.
• Several institutional investors also adjusted their positions in Morningstar, with Hughes Financial Services purchasing a new stake valued at about $25,000 and Larson Financial Group increasing its position by 5,066.7%.
• Morningstar's stock recently saw a drop of 2.4%, trading at $251.35, with a 1-year high of $365.00 and earnings per share reported at $2.40 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 183.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,163 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,063 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Morningstar worth $10,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 37.8% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 153 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 6.6% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 777 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 10.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 516 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.67.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.1%

Morningstar stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.14. 833,099 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 317,883. The business has a fifty day moving average of $270.70 and a 200 day moving average of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38 and a beta of 1.01. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.56 and a 12-month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $605.10 million during 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 other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.50, for a total transaction of $1,859,625.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,373,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,404,219,387.50. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 85,500 shares of company stock worth $22,341,957 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Company Profile

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.