Panagora Asset Management Inc. Acquires 55,574 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Morningstar, Inc. by an extraordinary 4,970.8% during the first quarter, owning approximately 0.13% of the company, worth $17 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have recently made significant investments in Morningstar, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its holdings by 30,785.9% and acquiring shares valued at approximately $43.25 million.
• Morningstar's stock was rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a price target raised to $355 from a previous $339, following better-than-expected earnings of $2.40 per share.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 4,970.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,692 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,574 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.13% of Morningstar worth $17,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 230,149 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $77,505,000 after acquiring an additional 36,133 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 13,100 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,412,000 after acquiring an additional 5,403 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 212.3% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 7,390 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,489,000 after acquiring an additional 5,024 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 37,086 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,489,000 after acquiring an additional 11,577 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $361.67.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,705 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total transaction of $1,747,658.25. Following the sale, the chairman owned 9,312,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,427,390,703.40. This trade represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 85,500 shares of company stock worth $22,341,957. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded up $1.60 during trading on Thursday, hitting $257.47. The company had a trading volume of 156,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,630. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $278.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $250.34 and a 12 month high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Morningstar 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.