Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Purchased by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 105.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,583 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MORN. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth $378,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Morningstar by 6.1% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the first quarter valued at $420,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 50.9% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth about $1,133,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.3%

Morningstar stock opened at $165.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $301.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.50.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total value of $44,833.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 12,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,732.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.