Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 32.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 91,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,109 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Morningstar worth $21,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 23.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Morningstar by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 13,902 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,225,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 744 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Client win / product adoption: Morningstar published a case study showing a financial firm transformed by its custom model-portfolio research, reinforcing demand for Morningstar’s advisory and institutional solutions. How One Financial Firm Transformed Through Custom Model Portfolio Research
• Positive Sentiment: Geographic / product expansion: Morningstar launched star ratings for UK managed portfolios, extending its ratings footprint and potentially opening new revenue from U.K. advisors and platforms. Morningstar launches star ratings for UK managed portfolios
• Neutral Sentiment: Thought leadership / media mentions: Morningstar commentary that recent AI-driven sector weakness was “an overreaction” and picks of bargain stocks highlights the firm’s analyst influence — positive for brand but unlikely to move revenue immediately. Morningstar says the week’s AI-fueled meltdown was a big overreaction and 2 stocks in particular are now a bargain buy for investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor resources content: Morningstar released updated tax‑planning and IRA resources for 2026 — useful for end users and advisor clients but not a near-term earnings driver. Morningstar’s Tax-Planning and IRA Resources for 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by founder/chairman: Joseph Mansueto sold multiple blocks of stock earlier this week (several filings showing sales on Feb. 4–6 totaling tens of thousands of shares), which can signal liquidity-taking and likely contributed to downward pressure on the share price given the timing and market sensitivity. Insider Selling: Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells 6,352 Shares of Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 target price on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Morningstar from $350.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morningstar has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.03, for a total value of $1,558,967.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,646,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,859,214,749.12. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,905 shares of company stock valued at $11,842,178. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $165.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $210.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.62 and a 12-month high of $330.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82 and a beta of 1.08.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.75%.

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.