Squarepoint Ops LLC Makes New $7.45 Million Investment in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 47,742 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,449,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Morningstar as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Morningstar by 23.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Morningstar by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price target on Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.33.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total value of $1,238,415.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,938,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,193,937.28. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451 over the last three months. Insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $193.15 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $193.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.00. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $261.37.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%.

Morningstar Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and financial information. The company serves individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and retirement plan providers with tools designed to support investment analysis, portfolio construction, and financial decision-making.

Its offerings include investment research and ratings, market and portfolio data, indexes, software platforms, and retirement planning solutions. Key products include Morningstar Direct for institutional research and analysis and Advisor Workstation for financial professionals.

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