Baird Financial Group Inc. Takes $2.85 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc., purchasing 9,503 shares valued at approximately $2.85 million during the first quarter of the year.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 6,705 shares by Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto, worth over $1.7 million, which slightly reduced his holding in the company to approximately $2.43 billion.
• Morningstar reported earnings of $2.40 per share for the last quarter, beating expectations of $2.21, although their revenue was slightly below consensus estimates.

Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,503 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,850,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MORN. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 4,970.8% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,692 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,000,000 after acquiring an additional 55,574 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,897,000. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 453.8% in the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 15,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,647,000 after acquiring an additional 12,698 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,817,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Two 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, Morningstar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $361.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN traded up $5.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $256.51. 94,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,473. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.56 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.32 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day moving average is $272.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Morningstar 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.