Millennium Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC significantly increased its position in Morningstar, Inc. by 88.0%, acquiring 253,137 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to 540,795 shares.
• Insider selling occurred as Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,705 shares for over $1.74 million, while corporate insiders collectively own 36.20% of the company's stock.
• Despite analysts cutting Morningstar's rating from "buy" to "hold," BMO Capital Markets raised its target price from $339.00 to $355.00, maintaining a positive outlook.

Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 88.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 540,795 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 253,137 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 1.28% of Morningstar worth $162,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 30,785.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 144,237 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $43,252,000 after purchasing an additional 143,770 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the first quarter valued at about $38,269,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Morningstar by 4,970.8% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,692 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $17,000,000 after buying an additional 55,574 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 688.9% during the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,511,000 after buying an additional 39,344 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN traded down $0.87 on Friday, reaching $257.24. 249,059 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 317,060. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 1.01. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $289.37.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MORN. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 9,373,175 shares in the company, valued at $2,404,219,387.50. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 85,500 shares of company stock worth $22,341,957 in the last three months. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Morningstar

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.