Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $1.20 Million Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Morningstar by 80.7%, acquiring an additional 1,806 shares to hold a total of 4,043 shares valued at $1,197,000.
• Morningstar reported a Q2 earnings EPS of $2.40, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.21, although it missed revenue estimates with $605.1 million against expectations of $605.84 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, yielding approximately 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 19.38%.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 80.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,043 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,806 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,906 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 29,886 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,064,000 after buying an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 305,014 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,719,000 after acquiring an additional 13,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,095 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Up 2.1%

Morningstar stock traded up $5.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $265.73. The company had a trading volume of 209,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $250.34 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $283.74 and its 200-day moving average is $293.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26 and a beta of 0.96.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 7,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.99, for a total value of $1,913,927.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,324,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,461,632,040.83. 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 link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 73,619 shares of company stock valued at $19,241,523. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.67.

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.