BlackRock Inc. Invests $324.79 Million in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,081,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $324,792,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Morningstar as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total value of $1,662,315.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 7,960,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,789,448.20. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $212.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.49 and a 12-month high of $265.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.33.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MORN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Company 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.