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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.15, for a total transaction of $1,791,837.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,565,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,116,945,777.35. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $246.26 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.82. Morningstar, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.49 and a fifty-two week high of $251.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter worth $294,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 133.7% during the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,874,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 111.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 94,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,896,000 after buying an additional 49,692 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at $253,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Morningstar News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about MORN:

• Positive Sentiment: A recent Seeking Alpha analysis described Morningstar as “still slightly undervalued,” a potentially supportive view for investors focused on valuation. Separately, the company’s latest reported quarter beat consensus on both earnings and revenue: EPS was $3.48 versus $3.04 expected, and revenue was $672.1 million versus $664.75 million. Morningstar: Still Slightly Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 14,635 shares across three transactions. The sales were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and are small relative to his remaining ownership of more than 8.5 million shares, limiting their significance as a signal about the company’s outlook. 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.