Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,610 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $57,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $383,489,000 after buying an additional 102,206 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Morningstar by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 950,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $303,327,000 after acquiring an additional 5,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Morningstar by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,698 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 13.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MORN stock opened at $286.94 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $318.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $328.72. 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 has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90 and a beta of 1.23. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $278.64 and a twelve month high of $365.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 59,542 shares of company stock valued at $18,769,523 over the last 90 days. 37.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Company 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.