Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Upgraded to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.33.

Morningstar Price Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $195.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $200.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.68. Morningstar has a 1 year low of $141.49 and a 1 year high of $238.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman owned 7,938,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,737,193,937.28. The trade was a 0.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451. 38.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 151.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Morningstar by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 315 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 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 information. The company serves individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and retirement plan providers with tools designed to support investment analysis, portfolio construction, and financial decision-making.

Its offerings include investment research and ratings, market and portfolio data, indexes, software platforms, and retirement planning solutions. Key products include Morningstar Direct for institutional research and analysis and Advisor Workstation for financial professionals.