Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1,976.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,107 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.07% of Morningstar worth $4,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Berkeley Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,777,000. Fluent Financial LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $2,541,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 176.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 35,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,629,000 after purchasing an additional 22,459 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $6,534,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $768,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total value of $44,833.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. 38.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MORN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $172.61 on Friday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.49 and a 52 week high of $289.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $170.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.12.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $644.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%.

About Morningstar

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.