Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $523,367.76 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 3,214 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.84, for a total value of $523,367.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,212,442 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,314,055.28. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Morningstar Trading Up 3.9%

Morningstar stock opened at $160.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.08 and a 12 month high of $330.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.03.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. Morningstar had a return on equity of 26.36% and a net margin of 15.30%.The firm had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $634.43 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is 22.45%.

Key Morningstar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates: Morningstar posted stronger-than-expected EPS and solid revenue with notably strong operating cash flow — a classic fundamental driver for investor buying (press release). Q4 press release
• Positive Sentiment: New index licensing deal: Morningstar partnered to launch Catholic-principles equity indexes with the Vatican Bank — a recurring-revenue product that can expand index/data licensing fees and distribution. Vatican bank teams with Morningstar on Catholic stock indexes
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentary: Coverage questioning semiliquid/private-market funds and Morningstar’s related analysis may influence advisor sentiment but is unlikely to move core revenue immediately. Article on semiliquid funds
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio rebalancing by Morningstar Investment Management (e.g., shifts in Berkshire, Meta, TSMC) signals client-level activity that informs asset-management revenues but doesn’t change corporate guidance. Portfolio moves
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Chairman Joseph Mansueto has executed several small open‑market sales this week (multiple Form 4 filings). While tiny vs. his stake, visible insider sales can create short‑term caution among investors. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and profit headwinds: operating profit and net income were down year-over-year despite revenue growth — investors should watch margin trends and expense pacing in coming quarters. Earnings rundown

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MORN shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price target on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $265.00.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 106.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $141,119,000 after buying an additional 314,275 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morningstar during the second quarter worth $93,224,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Morningstar by 266.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 280,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $88,190,000 after purchasing an additional 204,277 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Morningstar by 22,716.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 162,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,512,000 after purchasing an additional 161,968 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 362.8% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 187,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,416,000 after purchasing an additional 146,693 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% 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.