Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $2.42 Million Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 105.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,759 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 7.4% in the second quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 54.2% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.50.

Morningstar Price Performance

Morningstar stock opened at $169.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 1.11. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.08 and a 52-week high of $316.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $177.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, CFO Michael Holt purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.59 per share, with a total value of $186,590.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,873.20. This trade represents a 11.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total transaction of $569,203.04. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,138,232 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,762,458.24. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 84,643 shares of company stock valued at $14,088,066. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

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.