Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stake in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Morningstar stake by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,596 shares and leaving it with 39,093 shares worth about $8.5 million.
• Several institutional investors recently initiated or added to positions in Morningstar, and hedge funds and other institutions now own about 57.02% of the stock.
• Morningstar insiders have also been selling shares: CFO Michael Holt and Director William M. Lyons both reduced holdings, and insiders sold 64,720 shares worth $11.17 million over the last three months.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,093 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,596 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.10% of Morningstar worth $8,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 120.5% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,732.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total value of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,488,816. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471. Corporate insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group set a $280.00 target price on Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.50.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar’s SpaceX valuation has put the company in the spotlight and reinforces its role as a closely watched independent research provider, which can boost brand visibility. Article: Here's how SpaceX is pitching its IPO to everyday investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets amplified Morningstar’s “significantly overvalued” view on SpaceX, increasing the reach of its analysis and potentially highlighting the firm’s influence on market debate. Article: Morningstar says SpaceX is 'significantly overvalued'
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar also appeared in a broader market commentary on single-stock turbulence and downside risk, but this piece is more about the market than the company itself. Article: How single-stock turbulence presents 'asymmetric' downside risk for a rather calm S&P 500
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar-related commentary on technology stock value and IPO pricing adds to visibility, but it is unlikely to have a direct material impact on MORN shares by itself. Article: 10 Technology Stocks Offering More than 50% Upside
• Negative Sentiment: One recent report also noted Morningstar shares had fallen sharply earlier in the week, reflecting recent weakness even before the SpaceX coverage dominated headlines. Article: Morningstar Inc (MORN) Shares Fall 5.3% -- What GF Score of 82 Tells Investors

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN stock opened at $183.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.93. 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 $149.08 and a 52-week high of $316.71.

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

About Morningstar

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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