Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services cut its stake in Morningstar by 19.8%, selling 89,555 shares and now holding 361,687 shares (about 0.88% of the company) worth roughly $78.6 million; institutional investors own about 57.02% of the stock.
• Analyst views are mixed—some upgrades and downgrades recently—with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.50 (BMO cut its target to $193 while UBS set $280).
• Morningstar beat the latest quarter's estimates (EPS $2.71 vs. $2.34 expected; revenue $641.1M vs. $634.4M expected) and trades with a market cap of $6.8 billion and a 12‑month range of $149.08 to $316.71.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 361,687 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 89,555 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.88% of Morningstar worth $78,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 106.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $141,119,000 after acquiring an additional 314,275 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 362.8% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 187,128 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,416,000 after purchasing an additional 146,693 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Morningstar by 78.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 286,175 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,395,000 after purchasing an additional 125,507 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Morningstar by 2,899.4% during the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 128,855 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,896,000 after purchasing an additional 124,559 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in Morningstar by 9.2% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $328,133,000 after purchasing an additional 118,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.50.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $176.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.08 and a twelve month high of $316.71.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $641.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 27.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $1,173,241.52. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,184,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,314,629,973.56. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 84,643 shares of company stock valued at $14,088,066 in the last ninety days. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Company 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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