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

Key Points

• Morningstar Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares for approximately $1.45 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his direct stake by 0.09% to 8,006,920 shares.
• Morningstar shares rose 2.1% to $200.66, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: adjusted EPS was $3.10 versus a $2.83 consensus, and revenue reached $663.2 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with two Buy ratings and one Sell rating; MarketBeat reports a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $227.33.

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.63, for a total value of $1,447,317.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,006,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,421,439.60. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Trading Up 2.1%

MORN traded up $4.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $200.66. 184,663 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,720. The company's fifty day moving average price is $174.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $266.05. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.27. Morningstar had a return on equity of 38.57% and a net margin of 16.43%.The business had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $649.72 million.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MORN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $227.33.

About Morningstar

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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