Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto Sells 7,250 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares at an average of $247.30, worth about $1.79 million. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; he retains approximately 8.56 million shares.
• Morningstar’s latest quarter beat expectations, reporting EPS of $3.48 versus $3.04 estimated and revenue of $672.1 million versus $664.75 million expected.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $235.67.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.30, for a total transaction of $1,792,925.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,558,044 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,404,281.20. This represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MORN stock traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $246.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 246,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $251.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $211.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.67.

Latest Morningstar News

Investors following MORN have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: A recent Seeking Alpha analysis described Morningstar as “still slightly undervalued,” a potentially supportive view for investors focused on valuation. Separately, the company’s latest reported quarter beat consensus on both earnings and revenue: EPS was $3.48 versus $3.04 expected, and revenue was $672.1 million versus $664.75 million. Morningstar: Still Slightly Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 14,635 shares across three transactions. The sales were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and are small relative to his remaining ownership of more than 8.5 million shares, limiting their significance as a signal about the company’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 80.0% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 135 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 260.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

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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