Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Given New $237.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $230.00 to $237.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target indicates a potential upside of 15.64% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MORN. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.67.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $204.94. 49,189 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 469,681. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 1.02. Morningstar has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $227.51.

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 7,960,570 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,789,448.20. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 45.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth about $122,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and analytical services. The company serves individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and retirement plan providers through information and tools designed to support investment research, portfolio construction, wealth management, and financial planning.

Its offerings include ratings and research on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, and other investments; portfolio management and investment research platforms such as Morningstar Direct and Morningstar Advisor Workstation; and data, analytics, and software for asset managers and financial institutions.