8,334 Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Sold by Corient Private Wealth LP

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LP reduced its Morningstar stake by 43.6%, selling 8,334 shares in the second quarter and retaining 10,796 shares valued at approximately $1.68 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.02% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Morningstar holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $227.33, despite UBS lowering its target to $260 and another analyst downgrading the stock to “Hold.”
• Morningstar reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $3.10 in EPS versus the $2.83 estimate and revenue of $663.2 million versus $649.72 million expected. The stock opened at $196.41, while insiders sold 86,500 shares worth $17.8 million during the quarter.

Corient Private Wealth LP trimmed its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,796 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,334 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 151.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 219 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,007 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Morningstar by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,031 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MORN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price target on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total transaction of $1,662,315.56. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,960,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,789,448.20. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $196.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.59. The company has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60 and a beta of 1.00. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $238.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $663.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and financial information. The company serves individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, institutions, and retirement plan providers with tools designed to support investment analysis, portfolio construction, and financial decision-making.

Its offerings include investment research and ratings, market and portfolio data, indexes, software platforms, and retirement planning solutions. Key products include Morningstar Direct for institutional research and analysis and Advisor Workstation for financial professionals.

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