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

Key Points

• Morningstar Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares for approximately $1.5 million at an average price of $207.04 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. He still owns nearly 7.97 million shares, so the sale reduced his stake by just 0.09%.
• Morningstar shares rose 2.4% to $213.65, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $3.10 per share and revenue of $663.2 million, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $227.33 average price target. Institutional investors own approximately 57.02% of Morningstar’s shares.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.04, for a total value of $1,501,040.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 7,969,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,650,045,859.84. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded up $4.92 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $213.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 357,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,496. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $266.05.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $663.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 38.57% and a net margin of 16.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MORN shares. 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 price objective on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Morningstar by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

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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