Creative Planning Boosts Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 626,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $196,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,408 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 88.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 540,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $162,168,000 after buying an additional 253,137 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $58,914,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,269,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 109,257 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,763,000 after buying an additional 10,920 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $214.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $219.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $261.80. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $202.89 and a 1-year high of $365.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44 and a beta of 1.06.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.13. Morningstar had a return on equity of 24.68% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company had revenue of $617.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $603.29 million.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,286 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.12, for a total value of $274,072.32. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,600,815 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,005,692.80. This represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 63,750 shares of company stock worth $13,537,223 over the last three months. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MORN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Morningstar Company Profile

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.