Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto Sells 1,653 Shares of Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 1,653 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $272,745.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,215,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,355,583,240. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded down $6.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.35. 836,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 528,560. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.89. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 1.08. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.00 and a 52 week high of $330.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 22.75%.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar partnered with the Vatican bank to launch Catholic-themed equity indexes — a product licensing and index services win that can drive recurring index licensing fees, expand Morningstar’s institutional client base, and boost its ESG/faith-based product footprint. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar Investment Management executed portfolio moves (increasing Berkshire Hathaway B, cutting Meta Platforms, trimming Taiwan Semiconductor) — these reflect the firm’s active asset-management positioning but are unlikely to meaningfully change Morningstar’s fee revenue in the near term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets preview Morningstar’s upcoming Q4 earnings — the report and guidance could be a near-term catalyst; investors should watch AUM trends, subscription/licensing revenue, and margin commentary. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fund commentary (Baron Durable Advantage Fund) referenced Morningstar’s category performance — useful for context on how Morningstar-rated categories and related products are performing, but not directly impactful to Morningstar’s corporate results. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Chairman Joseph Mansueto disclosed small open‑market sales on Feb. 9–10 (1,653 shares at ~$165 and 3,214 shares at ~$162.84, ~0.02–0.04% reductions in his holding). While the amounts are modest relative to his remaining stake, insider selling can weigh on short-term sentiment. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Morningstar by 270.3% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.00.

About Morningstar

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.