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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $1,239,895.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,136,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,460,106.84. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.8%

MORN traded down $1.36 during trading on Monday, hitting $167.67. The stock had a trading volume of 489,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,778. The company has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.08 and a twelve month high of $316.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.21.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Morningstar

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.