Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 45,798 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 517,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,798 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $87,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MORN. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 28.4% during the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 135,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,858,000 after purchasing an additional 29,933 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 1,976.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,428 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,655,000 after buying an additional 26,107 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Morningstar by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 175,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,585,000 after buying an additional 5,049 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Morningstar by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar during the 1st quarter worth $1,151,000. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN opened at $198.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.40. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.49 and a 1 year high of $289.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.01.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 16.06%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total value of $1,205,167.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,114,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,872,005.16. 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock valued at $11,169,471 in the last quarter. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morningstar currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.33.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat expectations. Adjusted earnings rose to $3.10 per share, exceeding the $2.83 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 9.6% year over year to $663.2 million versus expectations of approximately $649.7 million. Morningstar Q2 Adjusted Earnings, Revenue Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and cash flow improved substantially. Operating income climbed 28.4% to $160.6 million, net income increased to $107.8 million from $89.0 million a year earlier, and operating cash flow jumped 57.3% to $155.7 million. Organic revenue growth was 6.8%. Morningstar Q2 Revenue Rises 9.6% to $663.2 Million
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based. Management cited Morningstar Credit, the Morningstar Direct Platform and PitchBook as leading contributors to revenue growth, supporting investor confidence in the company’s operating momentum. Morningstar Reports Strong Q2 2026 Financial Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchases provided additional support. Morningstar repurchased 567,844 shares for $100 million during the quarter, potentially improving per-share results and signaling management’s confidence in the stock’s value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Balance-sheet considerations remain important. Morningstar held $523.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments against $1.7 billion of debt. The company’s debt load could limit financial flexibility despite stronger cash generation.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may temper enthusiasm. Insiders recorded 137 sales and just one purchase over the past six months, including substantial sales by Executive Chairman Joseph Mansueto. These transactions may raise caution, although they do not necessarily reflect the company’s operating outlook.

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.