Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Invests $1.15 Million in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Hillsdale Investment Management opened a new position in Morningstar, buying 6,810 shares worth about $1.15 million in the first quarter.
• Morningstar reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.18 versus the $2.41 consensus and revenue of $644.8 million above estimates.
• Analyst views are mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $227.33, while recent insider sales included moves by Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto and Director William M. Lyons.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,810 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MORN. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Morningstar by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 74,541 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $16,199,000 after buying an additional 8,424 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 71,033 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,436,000 after buying an additional 10,794 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,478 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $73,891,000 after buying an additional 82,154 shares in the last quarter. Berkeley Inc bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $3,777,000. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $2,541,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $169.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day moving average is $170.89 and its 200 day moving average is $180.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.49 and a 52 week high of $292.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.77. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.91 million.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total value of $401,154.40. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,043,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,421,445,906.24. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total value of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,488,816. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. Insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note 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 cut Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Profile

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.

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