Joseph Mansueto Sells 4,095 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Key Points

• Morningstar Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 4,095 shares at an average price of $216.75, generating $887,591.25. The transaction, conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced his ownership by 0.05%, leaving him with nearly 7.94 million shares.
• Morningstar shares fell 0.7% to $215.97 during Friday trading, while the company reported quarterly results above expectations: earnings per share of $3.10 versus $2.83 expected and revenue of $663.2 million versus $649.72 million projected.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $227.33. Institutional investors own 57.02% of Morningstar’s shares.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 4,095 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.75, for a total value of $887,591.25. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 7,943,851 shares in the company, valued at $1,721,829,704.25. This trade represents a 0.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MORN traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $215.97. The company had a trading volume of 201,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,137. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.49 and a 1-year high of $266.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $178.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.39. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.27. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%. The company had revenue of $663.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.72 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth $545,937,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter valued at about $324,792,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% during 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 shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,644,000 after acquiring an additional 292,053 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Company 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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