Key Points
- Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 Morningstar shares on Feb. 26 at an average price of $178 for about $1.29 million, and now holds 8,148,604 shares (a 0.09% reduction), disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Morningstar beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $2.71 vs. $2.34 est. and revenue of $641.1M vs. $634.4M, reporting a 15.3% net margin and 27.94% return on equity.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share (annualized $2.00, yield ~1.1%) and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $236.50.
Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,290,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,148,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,451,512. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.
Morningstar Price Performance
Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $183.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $195.10 and a 200 day moving average of $217.91. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.08 and a 52 week high of $318.95. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.
Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The business had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.43 million.
Morningstar Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 22.45%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.50.
View Our Latest Stock Report on MORN
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Morningstar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $435,995,000 after purchasing an additional 47,360 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in Morningstar by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $328,133,000 after purchasing an additional 118,979 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Morningstar by 85.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,213 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $246,910,000 after buying an additional 523,387 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $195,644,000 after buying an additional 292,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morningstar by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 626,941 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $196,839,000 after purchasing an additional 11,408 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
About Morningstar
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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