Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Director Sells $199,000.00 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Director William Lyons sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.00, for a total transaction of $199,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,567,896. The trade was a 7.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MORN stock opened at $199.33 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $173.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.68. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.49 and a 1 year high of $266.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter worth $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings remain supportive. Morningstar’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue of $663.2 million versus the $649.7 million consensus estimate and EPS of $3.10 versus $2.83 expected. The earnings beat and continued profitability provide a favorable fundamental backdrop for MORN. Morningstar stock and earnings information
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar continues expanding its wealth-advice business through technology. A recent report highlighted technology as central to Morningstar Wealth’s plans to grow its presence in the advice market. This could support longer-term growth, but no new financial guidance or specific revenue impact was provided. Tech key to Morningstar Wealth’s plans
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto reported two stock sales. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares on August 3 for approximately $1.44 million and another 7,250 shares on August 5 for approximately $1.46 million. The combined sales reduced his ownership by only about 0.18%; he still directly owns more than 8.0 million shares. Because both transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, they are a relatively weak bearish signal. Mansueto SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Another director also sold shares. Director William Lyons sold 1,000 shares for about $199,000, reducing his direct position by 7.19%. The transaction adds a minor insider-selling overhang, but its small dollar value relative to Morningstar’s market capitalization limits its significance. William Lyons insider 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.