Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Morningstar by 13.9% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,497,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 10.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 400,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $127,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 61.3% during the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 88,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,203,000 after purchasing an additional 33,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total transaction of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,542 shares of company stock valued at $18,769,523. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MORN. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $286.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.85. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $278.64 and a 12-month high of $365.00.

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

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.