AlphaQuest LLC Decreases Stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN)

AlphaQuest LLC cut its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 979 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,764 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 14.2% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 30.7% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,258 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 101.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 12.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,843 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 9.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,924 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the chairman now owns 10,109,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,304,429,412.62. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,542 shares of company stock worth $18,769,523. Corporate insiders own 37.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN traded up $4.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $286.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,532. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $278.64 and a fifty-two week high of $365.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $318.39 and its 200-day moving average is $328.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90 and a beta of 1.23.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

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.