Waverly Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 21,153 Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 21,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,576,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings 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 worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 4.7% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Stock Up 2.3%

MORN opened at $198.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.49 and a 52 week high of $289.63.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total transaction of $401,154.40. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,043,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,445,906.24. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Morningstar News Roundup

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.

About Morningstar

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.