Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.03 Million Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Morningstar stake by 12.5% in the first quarter, selling 10,998 shares and ending with 77,073 shares valued at about $13.0 million.
• Morningstar reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.18 versus estimates of $2.41 and revenue of $644.8 million versus expectations of $626.91 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $227.33, even as some insiders have recently sold shares.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,073 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,998 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Morningstar worth $13,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $435,995,000 after acquiring an additional 47,360 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Morningstar by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $246,910,000 after acquiring an additional 523,387 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $195,644,000 after purchasing an additional 292,053 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 471,971 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $102,566,000 after purchasing an additional 51,844 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 365,560 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $79,440,000 after purchasing an additional 47,082 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.0%

MORN opened at $172.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $170.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.12. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $289.63.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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 raised Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.33.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $125,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,904 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owned 12,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,046,732.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 over the last quarter. 38.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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