Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ MORN traded down $4.04 on Tuesday, reaching $321.05. 90,677 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 102,094. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 42.41 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar has a one year low of $269.51 and a one year high of $365.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $343.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $325.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.88, for a total transaction of $248,910.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,261,339.20. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total transaction of $1,137,332.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. This represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,661 shares of company stock valued at $17,723,744 over the last 90 days. 39.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 285 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV grew its stake in Morningstar by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Morningstar by 15.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 7.4% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 832 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.