Insider Selling: Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Sells $1,066,134.72 in Stock

Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 6,608 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $1,066,134.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,170,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,318,204,914.36. This trade represents a 0.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of MORN stock opened at $159.48 on Monday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.08 and a 52-week high of $328.70. The stock has a market cap 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 is $199.12 and its 200-day moving average is $220.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

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

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is presently 22.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Morningstar by 120.5% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morningstar News Roundup

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)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $280.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.50.

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.