Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Position Trimmed by CI Investments Inc.

Key Points

• CI Investments Inc. sharply reduced its Morningstar stake by 93.5% in the first quarter, selling 32,836 shares and leaving it with 2,292 shares worth about $387,000.
• Wall Street sentiment remains relatively positive: Morningstar has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with an average price target of $227.33 after several analyst upgrades and target adjustments.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, reporting $3.18 EPS versus the $2.41 estimate and revenue of $644.8 million, while the stock recently traded up about 3% to $172.61.

CI Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 93.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,292 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 32,836 shares during the quarter. CI Investments Inc.'s holdings in Morningstar were worth $387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MORN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. 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, Morningstar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $172.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.01. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.49 and a 1-year high of $289.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $170.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total value of $1,205,167.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,114,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. 38.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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