Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $189.93 and traded as high as $189.99. Morningstar shares last traded at $183.91, with a volume of 532,866 shares trading hands.

Key Headlines Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar’s SpaceX valuation has put the company in the spotlight and reinforces its role as a closely watched independent research provider, which can boost brand visibility. Article: Here’s how SpaceX is pitching its IPO to everyday investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets amplified Morningstar’s “significantly overvalued” view on SpaceX, increasing the reach of its analysis and potentially highlighting the firm’s influence on market debate. Article: Morningstar says SpaceX is ‘significantly overvalued’
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar also appeared in a broader market commentary on single-stock turbulence and downside risk, but this piece is more about the market than the company itself. Article: How single-stock turbulence presents ‘asymmetric’ downside risk for a rather calm S&P 500
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar-related commentary on technology stock value and IPO pricing adds to visibility, but it is unlikely to have a direct material impact on MORN shares by itself. Article: 10 Technology Stocks Offering More than 50% Upside
• Negative Sentiment: One recent report also noted Morningstar shares had fallen sharply earlier in the week, reflecting recent weakness even before the SpaceX coverage dominated headlines. Article: Morningstar Inc (MORN) Shares Fall 5.3% — What GF Score of 82 Tells Investors

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $280.00 target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.50.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.93.

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total transaction of $401,154.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,043,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,445,906.24. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total value of $125,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Morningstar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $435,995,000 after acquiring an additional 47,360 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in Morningstar by 9.2% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,133,000 after acquiring an additional 118,979 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Morningstar by 85.4% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,644,000 after purchasing an additional 292,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 worth $87,514,000 after purchasing an additional 45,798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.