Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Acquired by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 368.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,868 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $3,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 13,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,225,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.9%

MORN stock opened at $172.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $176.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.25. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.08 and a 52 week high of $316.71. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 1.11.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 15.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total value of $569,203.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,138,232 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,762,458.24. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Holt purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.59 per share, with a total value of $186,590.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,873.20. The trade was a 11.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 84,643 shares of company stock worth $14,088,066 in the last three months. 36.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $280.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.50.

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.