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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total transaction of $1,243,882.50. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,053,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,381,655,268.84. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN opened at $173.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $174.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.15. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.08 and a 1 year high of $316.71. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MORN shares. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on Morningstar in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Morningstar by 32.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 22,109 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Morningstar by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 74,541 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,199,000 after acquiring an additional 8,424 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,713,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Morningstar by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 71,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,436,000 after purchasing an additional 10,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,891,000 after purchasing an additional 82,154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar Credit Analytics launched Corporate Credit Analytics, a new toolset designed to improve transparency and consistency in private credit analysis, which could support subscription and analytics revenue growth. Morningstar Credit Analytics Cuts Through Private Market Opacity with Standardized Corporate Credit Analytics
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s recent quarterly results were better than expected, with earnings and revenue both topping analyst estimates, reinforcing the fundamental case for the stock. Morningstar stock and earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Educational and editorial coverage about Morningstar’s star ratings and other investment content may help brand awareness, but it is unlikely to materially move the shares. Morningstar Star Ratings Explained: How to Use Them to Pick Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold additional shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, adding to a recent pattern of insider sales that some investors may view cautiously. SEC filing for Joseph D. Mansueto sale
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Michael Holt also sold a small number of shares recently, reinforcing the insider-selling narrative, though the size was limited. SEC filing for Michael Holt sale

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.