Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MORN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.5%

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

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $603.29 million.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.95, for a total value of $1,536,637.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,693,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,842,601,101.75. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 63,750 shares of company stock valued at $13,537,223 in the last ninety days. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.