Premier Fund Managers Ltd Sells 110,215 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its holdings in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 54.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 90,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110,215 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $21,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position 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 during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 7.4% in the second quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 744 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morningstar by 2.7% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.50.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of MORN opened at $159.48 on Friday. 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $199.12 and its 200-day moving average is $220.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.63, for a total value of $1,173,241.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,184,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,314,629,973.56. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 69,223 shares of company stock valued at $11,544,354 in the last quarter. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morningstar 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.