Magnetar Financial LLC Grows Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC significantly increased its investment in Morningstar, Inc., raising its stake by 453.8%, resulting in a total holding valued at $4.65 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, also acquired new stakes in Morningstar during the first quarter, indicating increased interest in the company.
• Morningstar received mixed ratings from analysts, with BMO Capital Markets raising its price target to $355.00, while other analysts downgraded their ratings, reflecting varied opinions on the stock's future performance.

Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 453.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,496 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,698 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $4,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at about $5,817,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at about $73,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at about $4,762,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at about $277,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 646.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,070 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,119,000 after buying an additional 14,784 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN traded up $1.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $257.74. 77,011 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 230,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45 and a beta of 1.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $278.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.86. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $250.34 and a 1 year high of $365.00.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.50, for a total transaction of $1,859,625.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 9,373,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,404,219,387.50. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 85,500 shares of company stock worth $22,341,957. Insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

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.