Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 13,711 Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,711 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 106.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,119,000 after purchasing an additional 314,275 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,367,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 362.8% in the 3rd 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. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 88.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 295,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,182,000 after purchasing an additional 138,605 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 78.1% in the 3rd 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. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ MORN opened at $184.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.40. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.08 and a 52 week high of $316.71.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.50.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media outlets highlighted Morningstar as a “top pick” trading at a steep discount after earnings, reinforcing the view that the shares may be undervalued relative to fundamentals. PANW vs CRWD vs AVGO: Morningstar has a ‘top pick’ trading at a 40% discount after earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment also got a lift from a favorable article, “3 Reasons We Love Morningstar (MORN),” which could support the stock by spotlighting the company’s appeal to shareholders. 3 Reasons We Love Morningstar (MORN)
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar continued to generate media coverage around its research, including its view that SpaceX is worth far less than the IPO valuation and that the company has governance concerns. These articles raise Morningstar’s profile but are not directly tied to operating results. Institutional investors have governance concerns about SpaceX IPO: Morningstar director
• Neutral Sentiment: A report showing zero short interest and no meaningful change in bearish positioning does not suggest a new catalyst for the stock either way.
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional articles about Morningstar’s market commentary and stock-picking lists are likely helping visibility, but they do not appear to materially change the near-term earnings or revenue outlook. 5 Stocks to Buy Before the Next Market Rotation

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total transaction of $1,205,167.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,114,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar 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.