Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 176.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,459 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Morningstar were worth $7,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 120.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $172.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.08 and a 12 month high of $316.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.42. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Morningstar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar Credit Analytics launched Corporate Credit Analytics, a new toolset aimed at improving transparency and consistency in private credit analysis, which could support longer-term demand for the company’s analytics offerings. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s chairman, Joseph D. Mansueto, disclosed multiple pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 sales over May 18-20. While these are routine insider transactions, they can still weigh on sentiment because investors often interpret repeated executive selling cautiously.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar’s recent earnings remained strong, with the company reporting EPS and revenue above expectations and posting solid profitability metrics. That background provides some support for the stock even as shares remain below their 50-day and 200-day averages.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total value of $1,205,167.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,114,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 85,980 shares of company stock valued at $14,725,012. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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 shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.50.

Morningstar 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.