Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Stock Position Lifted by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MORN. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $545,937,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $324,792,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,272,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,051,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Morningstar by 219.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 189,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,002,000 after purchasing an additional 130,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $236.71 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $206.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.40. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.49 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $672.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $664.75 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 45.17%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,960,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,789,448.20. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,000 shares of company stock worth $14,723,566. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MORN shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.67.

Morningstar Profile

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

Its products and services include research and ratings on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, and other investments; portfolio analysis and planning tools; investment-management and advisory services; and software and data solutions for financial professionals and institutions.