15,879 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. worth approximately $4.76 million by purchasing 15,879 shares in the first quarter.
• Morningstar reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.40 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.21.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a shift in sentiment, with Wall Street Zen downgrading Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold," while BMO Capital Markets raised their price target to $355.00.

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,879 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,762,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the first quarter worth approximately $277,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 646.7% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,070 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,119,000 after acquiring an additional 14,784 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 565.0% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 5,531 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 777 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 13,260 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,977,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total value of $1,747,658.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,312,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,427,390,703.40. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 85,500 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,957 in the last ninety days. 36.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.67.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN stock traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $257.20. The company had a trading volume of 121,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $277.37 and a 200-day moving average of $290.40. The company has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37 and a beta of 1.01. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $250.34 and a 12-month high of $365.00.

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

Morningstar Company 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.