Joseph Mansueto Sells 7,250 Shares of Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.87, for a total transaction of $1,173,557.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,176,962 shares in the company, valued at $1,323,604,838.94. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN stock opened at $159.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $199.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.08 and a 12-month high of $328.70.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 22.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Trending Headlines about 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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.