Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 1,522 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,854,000. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $519,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $284.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $321.33 and a 200 day moving average of $329.38. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,106,235.52. The trade was a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,280 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.57, for a total transaction of $410,329.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,130,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,247,495,275.46. This trade represents a 0.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,703 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,106 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th.

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.