Dearborn Partners LLC Invests $1.32 Million in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners initiated a Morningstar position worth approximately $1.32 million by purchasing 8,465 shares in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 57.02% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Morningstar holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $227.33, despite UBS lowering its target to $260.
• Morningstar exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.10 in EPS versus the $2.83 consensus and revenue of $663.2 million versus estimates of $649.72 million.

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,465 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,321,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 11.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 183,575 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,033,000 after acquiring an additional 19,264 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth about $846,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth about $6,534,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Morningstar by 176.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 35,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,629,000 after purchasing an additional 22,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC raised its position in Morningstar by 150.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 14,362 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 8,618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Morningstar Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $218.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.70. The firm has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.49 and a twelve month high of $265.31.

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

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total transaction of $1,662,315.56. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 7,960,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,789,448.20. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451. 38.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Morningstar

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MORN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source