Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $2.15 Million Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its Morningstar stake by 64.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,774 shares and leaving it with 9,920 shares worth about $2.15 million.
• Morningstar reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.18 per share versus estimates of $2.41, while revenue of $644.8 million also topped analyst forecasts.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has recent upgrades and price targets as high as $260, but the overall consensus is still Hold with a target price of $227.33.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,920 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,774 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 120.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.18. The stock had a trading volume of 295,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,841. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.49 and a 52 week high of $297.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.77. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business had revenue of $644.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.91 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $227.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total value of $44,833.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,046,732.30. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total transaction of $401,154.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,043,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,445,906.24. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 in the last 90 days. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Morningstar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar’s investing research remains in the spotlight, with the firm highlighting broad market opportunities and naming companies like Nvidia and Broadcom on its “cheap stocks to buy” list. That helps reinforce Morningstar’s influence as a trusted market research provider. Broadcom and Nvidia Just Made Morningstar’s ‘Cheap Stocks to Buy’ List
• Positive Sentiment: A new Morningstar PitchBook report says evergreen funds have grown to $607 billion despite redemptions, underscoring continued demand for the firm’s private markets and data products. Morningstar PitchBook: Evergreen Funds Grow to $607B Despite Redemptions
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar also issued routine content and ratings updates, including a gold medalist rating for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF and educational material on risk ratings and ETF bootcamps. These items support brand visibility but are unlikely to materially move MORN shares on their own. Morningstar gives Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF a gold medalist rating Understanding Morningstar Risk Ratings Morningstar webinar series: ETF Bootcamp
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines about AI weakness, Netflix earnings, SK Hynix’s ADR offering, leveraged ETFs, retirement planning, and Salesforce are market-wide commentary rather than direct Morningstar company catalysts. Slumping AI stocks could be really good news for your nontech holdings Going Into Earnings, Is Netflix Stock a Buy, a Sell, or Fairly Valued? SK Hynix Confirms $26.51 Billion Raised Through ADR Offering

Morningstar Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar's proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.

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