Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $223.27 and last traded at $223.4190, with a volume of 36,146 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $213.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Morningstar Stock Up 4.5%

The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $204.24 and a 200 day moving average of $185.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total transaction of $1,238,415.56. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,938,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,737,193,937.28. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $106,000. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 5.9% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 15,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,029,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 32.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 27.9% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

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.