Insider Selling: Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $1,444,200.00 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.20, for a total transaction of $1,444,200.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,030,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,599,763,646.40. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MORN traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $199.33. The company had a trading volume of 243,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,396. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.49 and a 1-year high of $266.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.79. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Morningstar by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Morningstar by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.