Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Swiss National Bank grew its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.13% of Morningstar worth $18,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 12.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Morningstar by 10.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 689 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Morningstar by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Morningstar by 120.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,879 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,428,000 after buying an additional 7,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $291.71 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $317.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.55.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.25, for a total value of $2,557,749.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,301,707.50. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 59,544 shares of company stock worth $18,770,097 over the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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.

About Morningstar

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.