California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System cut its Morningstar stake by 22% in the second quarter, selling 6,471 shares and retaining 22,952 shares worth about $3.58 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.02% of the company.
• Morningstar shares recently rose 1.1% to $203.76, while quarterly results exceeded expectations: earnings were $3.10 per share versus a $2.83 estimate, and revenue reached $663.2 million against a $649.72 million consensus.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $227.33. Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares for approximately $1.24 million under a pre-arranged trading plan.

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,952 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,471 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.06% of Morningstar worth $3,580,971 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MORN. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $689,000. denkapparat Operations GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 44.2% during the second quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH now owns 6,596 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $188,000. Finally, Keeler Thomas Management LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 14.3% during the second quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Morningstar stock traded up $2.12 on Tuesday, hitting $203.76. The stock had a trading volume of 114,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,788. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $252.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $194.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.64. The stock has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total value of $1,238,415.56. Following the sale, the chairman owned 7,938,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,737,193,937.28. This represents a 0.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 86,500 shares of company stock valued at $17,824,451 over the last quarter. 38.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Morningstar

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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