Key Points
- CFO Michael Holt bought 1,000 shares on March 4 at an average price of $186.59 (a $186,590 purchase), raising his stake to 9,480 shares — an 11.79% increase — as disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Morningstar beat Q4 expectations with EPS $2.71 vs. $2.34 estimate and revenue of $641.1M, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 ($2.00 annual, ~1.0% yield).
- The stock traded up to $191.22 (up ~2.3%) on lighter volume; Morningstar has a $7.57B market cap, P/E ~21.5, a 52-week range of $149.08–$316.71, ~57% institutional ownership, and an average analyst view of “Moderate Buy” with a $236.50 consensus target.
Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) CFO Michael Holt purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $186.59 per share, for a total transaction of $186,590.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,768,873.20. The trade was a 11.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
Morningstar Stock Up 2.3%
MORN traded up $4.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $191.22. 43,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 593,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.08 and a fifty-two week high of $316.71. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $193.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $216.03. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 1.10.
Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 15.30%.
Morningstar Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Morningstar's payout ratio is 22.45%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $435,995,000 after purchasing an additional 47,360 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in Morningstar by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $328,133,000 after buying an additional 118,979 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Morningstar by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $246,910,000 after buying an additional 523,387 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,644,000 after buying an additional 292,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 626,941 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $196,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,408 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on Morningstar in a report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.50.
Get Our Latest Report on Morningstar
Morningstar Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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