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

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.61, for a total transaction of $1,780,672.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,579,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,316,361.69. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction 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.

Morningstar Price Performance

NASDAQ MORN traded down $2.57 on Thursday, hitting $246.08. The stock had a trading volume of 181,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,489. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.49 and a 52-week high of $251.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.42 and a 200-day moving average of $187.43.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Morningstar by 111.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 94,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,896,000 after buying an additional 49,692 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $253,000. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 111.9% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 3,587 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter worth $25,952,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 15,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after buying an additional 5,002 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Morningstar

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.