Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.03 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,073 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,998 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $13,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MORN. Berkeley Inc bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,777,000. Fluent Financial LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,541,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Morningstar by 176.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 35,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,629,000 after acquiring an additional 22,459 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at $6,534,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $768,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $172.61 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $170.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.12. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.49 and a 52-week high of $289.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total value of $1,205,167.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,114,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 in the last quarter. 38.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MORN. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

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.