Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,200 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of Morningstar worth $4,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $182.43 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $170.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.63.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of 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 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total transaction of $44,833.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,046,732.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total transaction of $401,154.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,043,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,445,906.24. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471 over the last three months. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

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.