Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $279.17 and last traded at $279.83, with a volume of 8061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $282.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Morningstar from $387.00 to $370.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $12.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $322.38 and a 200-day moving average of $329.58.

Remove Ads

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $591.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $580.81 million.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,716 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.89, for a total value of $562,659.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,151,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,328,450,736.80. This represents a 0.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,703 shares of company stock worth $17,349,106. Insiders own 37.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Morningstar by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,803,611 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $944,144,000 after acquiring an additional 51,598 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Morningstar by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,201,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $383,489,000 after purchasing an additional 102,206 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Morningstar by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,080,599 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $363,903,000 after purchasing an additional 130,087 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Morningstar by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 804,293 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $256,666,000 after buying an additional 28,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Morningstar by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 696,023 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $222,115,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.