Swiss National Bank Purchases 600 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 54,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $18,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 178.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.2 %

MORN stock opened at $291.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $278.64 and a one year high of $365.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $317.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,038,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,301,707.50. The trade was a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 59,544 shares of company stock valued at $18,770,097 over the last three months. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

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.