Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 596,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,813 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $129,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Morningstar by 23.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in Morningstar by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 54.2% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 4.7% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MORN stock opened at $183.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.93. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.08 and a twelve month high of $316.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 16.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total transaction of $1,205,167.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,114,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 in the last 90 days. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar’s SpaceX valuation has put the company in the spotlight and reinforces its role as a closely watched independent research provider, which can boost brand visibility. Article: Here’s how SpaceX is pitching its IPO to everyday investors
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets amplified Morningstar’s “significantly overvalued” view on SpaceX, increasing the reach of its analysis and potentially highlighting the firm’s influence on market debate. Article: Morningstar says SpaceX is ‘significantly overvalued’
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar also appeared in a broader market commentary on single-stock turbulence and downside risk, but this piece is more about the market than the company itself. Article: How single-stock turbulence presents ‘asymmetric’ downside risk for a rather calm S&P 500
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar-related commentary on technology stock value and IPO pricing adds to visibility, but it is unlikely to have a direct material impact on MORN shares by itself. Article: 10 Technology Stocks Offering More than 50% Upside
• Negative Sentiment: One recent report also noted Morningstar shares had fallen sharply earlier in the week, reflecting recent weakness even before the SpaceX coverage dominated headlines. Article: Morningstar Inc (MORN) Shares Fall 5.3% — What GF Score of 82 Tells Investors

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.