Joseph Mansueto Sells 6,608 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 6,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total value of $1,066,134.72. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 8,170,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,204,914.36. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock opened at $159.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Morningstar, Inc. has a one year low of $149.08 and a one year high of $328.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 1.08.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.37. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 27.94%. The firm had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $634.43 million.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Appointment of Scott Brown as President, Direct Platform — a senior hire (effective Mar 2) intended to accelerate Morningstar’s direct/advisor platform growth; this could help expand subscription and platform revenues if execution succeeds. Morningstar Names Scott Brown as President of Direct Platform Business
• Positive Sentiment: Hired an Experian veteran to lead the direct platform push — another leadership move signaling focused investment in direct channels, which could improve client acquisition and margins over time. Morningstar taps Experian veteran to lead direct platform push
• Neutral Sentiment: Research product mention — Morningstar published its Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rate for 2026 at 3.9%, reinforcing its role as a trusted research provider; useful for brand and client engagement but unlikely to move near-term revenue materially. Morningstar Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rate For 2026 Is 3.9%
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target on MORN to $193 (from $257) — a material downward adjustment that reduces analyst-implied valuation and can trigger short-term selling or limit buying interest. BMO Capital Markets Lowers Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Price Target to $193.00
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated insider sales by Chairman Joseph Mansueto (multiple Form 4 filings Feb 17–20 totaling small blocks at ~ $159–$162) — while the sales are tiny relative to his large remaining stake, they add to headline selling and can amplify short‑term downward pressure. SEC Form 4 filing (Mansueto insider sales)

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in Morningstar by 0.3% in 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 during the period. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Morningstar by 7.4% during the second quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.