Morningstar, Inc. $MORN Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,596 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $8,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 54.2% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.50.

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

Morningstar Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $183.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.08 and a 1 year high of $316.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.93.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 16.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total value of $44,833.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,046,732.30. This represents a 2.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 38.80% 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.