OP Asset Management Ltd Buys Shares of 12,147 Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 12,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,053,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $435,995,000 after purchasing an additional 47,360 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 9.2% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $328,133,000 after purchasing an additional 118,979 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $246,910,000 after purchasing an additional 523,387 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,644,000 after purchasing an additional 292,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Morningstar by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 471,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,566,000 after buying an additional 51,844 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total transaction of $401,154.40. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,043,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,445,906.24. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,488,816. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471 in the last three months. 38.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $154.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76 and a beta of 1.00. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.49 and a 52-week high of $316.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.48 and its 200 day moving average is $184.63.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.00.

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.