Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Acquired by Nicholas Company Inc.

Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 115.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,320 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $19,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $383,489,000 after acquiring an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,115,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 497,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,772,000 after purchasing an additional 10,437 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.86, for a total transaction of $2,962,005.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,109,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,304,429,412.62. This represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 59,542 shares of company stock valued at $18,769,523 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 37.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Stock Up 1.6 %

MORN opened at $286.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $318.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 37.90 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $278.64 and a 52 week high of $365.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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.