Engineers Gate Manager LP Buys 25,817 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its Morningstar stake by 182.2% in the second quarter, purchasing 25,817 additional shares and ending with 39,989 shares worth approximately $6.24 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 57.02%, with California State Teachers Retirement System, Bamco, and BlackRock among investors making major additions or initiating positions during the quarter.
• Morningstar exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.10 in EPS versus $2.83 expected and revenue of $663.2 million versus the $649.7 million consensus estimate. Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $227.33.

Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 182.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,989 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,817 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned about 0.11% of Morningstar worth $6,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Morningstar by 12,070.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,580,971 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $558,703,000 after buying an additional 3,551,548 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $545,937,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $324,792,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $435,995,000 after acquiring an additional 47,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Morningstar by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,213 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $246,910,000 after purchasing an additional 523,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total value of $1,238,415.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 7,938,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,737,193,937.28. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451. Insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ MORN opened at $191.02 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $194.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 1.00. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $261.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set 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 report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and financial information. The company serves individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and retirement plan providers with tools designed to support investment analysis, portfolio construction, and financial decision-making.

Its offerings include investment research and ratings, market and portfolio data, indexes, software platforms, and retirement planning solutions. Key products include Morningstar Direct for institutional research and analysis and Advisor Workstation for financial professionals.

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