Vident Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. by purchasing 9,660 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million.
• Morningstar reported an EPS of $2.40 for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.21.
• Insider trading was noted as Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares at an average price of $256.50, reducing his ownership slightly.

Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,660 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,897,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Morningstar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $605,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 6.6% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 777 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 10.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 516 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.0% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,559,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 85,500 shares of company stock valued at $22,341,957. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $361.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.9%

MORN traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $258.11. 319,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,658. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $250.34 and a one year high of $365.00. 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 market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $278.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.86.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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.