Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Price Target Lowered to $260.00 at UBS Group

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) had its price target cut by stock analysts at UBS Group from $280.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 54.53% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MORN. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MORN stock opened at $168.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $171.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.47. Morningstar has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $311.61.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $644.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total transaction of $44,833.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,046,732.30. This trade represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total value of $125,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. 38.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Morningstar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $435,995,000 after buying an additional 47,360 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Morningstar by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,133,000 after acquiring an additional 118,979 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 85.4% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 292,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Morningstar by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 517,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $87,514,000 after purchasing an additional 45,798 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Company 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.