Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $1,689,685.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Morningstar Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares for about $1.69 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; he retained roughly 8.61 million shares worth about $2.01 billion.
• Morningstar beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $3.48 versus $3.04 forecast and revenue of $672.1 million versus $664.75 million expected.
• Shares rose 3.2% to $244.25. Analysts’ average price target was $235.67, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total transaction of $1,689,685.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,608,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,006,316,353.98. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of MORN traded up $7.54 on Wednesday, hitting $244.25. 254,203 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 453,532. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $141.49 and a one year high of $245.02. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $545,937,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter valued at $324,792,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 517,769 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $87,514,000 after buying an additional 45,798 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 448,870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $75,881,000 after buying an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 38.5% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 394,931 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $66,763,000 after acquiring an additional 109,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.67.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and financial technology. The company serves asset managers, financial advisors, institutions, retirement plans, and individual investors with information designed to support investment analysis and decision-making.

Its products and services include research and ratings on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, and other investments; portfolio analysis and planning tools; investment-management and advisory services; and software and data solutions for financial professionals and institutions.

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