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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.15, for a total value of $1,791,837.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,565,429 shares in the company, valued at $2,116,945,777.35. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $246.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.91. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.49 and a 1 year high of $251.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $211.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $672.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $664.75 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 45.17% and a net margin of 17.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its stake in Morningstar by 80.0% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 41.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 260.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar News Roundup

These are some of the MORN news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis characterized Morningstar as “still slightly undervalued,” which may support the shares if investors agree with its valuation view. Morningstar: Still Slightly Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman Joseph Mansueto reported selling a combined 14,655 shares across three transactions. The sales represented a very small reduction in his holdings, and the filings state they were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan—factors that temper the negative signal from insider selling. SEC Form 4 filing

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc. is a global provider of independent investment research, data, ratings and investment-management tools. The company serves individual investors, financial advisers, asset managers, retirement plan providers and institutions. Its offerings include investment and portfolio data, mutual fund and exchange-traded fund research, software for financial professionals, and wealth-management services. Morningstar also provides credit ratings through DBRS Morningstar and sustainability research through Sustainalytics.