Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $153.41, but opened at $162.15. Morningstar shares last traded at $160.67, with a volume of 47,432 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MORN shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.67.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.2%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.91 million.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total value of $1,205,167.50. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,114,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,872,005.16. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471. 38.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Morningstar during the third quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 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.