American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,372 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 261 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 5,066.7% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 172.3% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the first quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 31.0% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 6,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.65, for a total transaction of $1,747,658.25. Following the sale, the chairman owned 9,312,836 shares in the company, valued at $2,427,390,703.40. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 85,500 shares of company stock worth $22,341,957 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $262.42 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $281.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.79. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 1.01.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 23.54%. The firm had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $605.84 million.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.67.

Morningstar 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.