Insider Selling: Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $33,768.90 in Stock

Key Points

• Morningstar Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 135 shares for $33,768.90 at an average price of $250.14. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and he still directly owns more than 8.5 million shares.
• Morningstar beat quarterly expectations, reporting $3.48 in earnings per share versus analysts’ $3.04 estimate, and revenue of $672.1 million versus the $664.75 million forecast.
• Analysts give Morningstar an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $235.67.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 135 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.14, for a total transaction of $33,768.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,565,294 shares in the company, valued at $2,142,522,641.16. This represents a 0.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $2.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $246.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 181,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,489. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $251.04. The company has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $210.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $672.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $664.75 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.00% and a return on equity of 45.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Morningstar by 111.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 94,167 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,896,000 after purchasing an additional 49,692 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $253,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Morningstar by 111.9% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,793 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 3,587 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,952,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 46.6% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 15,737 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,991,000 after purchasing an additional 5,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Morningstar

Investors following MORN have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis characterized Morningstar as “still slightly undervalued,” which may support the shares if investors agree with its valuation view. Morningstar: Still Slightly Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman Joseph Mansueto reported selling a combined 14,655 shares across three transactions. The sales represented a very small reduction in his holdings, and the filings state they were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan—factors that temper the negative signal from insider selling. SEC Form 4 filing

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc. is a global provider of independent investment research, data, ratings and investment-management tools. The company serves individual investors, financial advisers, asset managers, retirement plan providers and institutions. Its offerings include investment and portfolio data, mutual fund and exchange-traded fund research, software for financial professionals, and wealth-management services. Morningstar also provides credit ratings through DBRS Morningstar and sustainability research through Sustainalytics.

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