Bamco Inc. NY Grows Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in Morningstar by 9.2% to 1,414,305 shares — about 3.44% of the company and valued at roughly $328.1 million, making MORN its 20th-largest holding.
• Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,304 shares on Feb. 17 for about $1.17 million, and insiders have sold 85,243 shares in the past three months while owning 36.20% of the stock overall.
• Morningstar beat quarterly expectations (EPS $2.71 vs. $2.34; revenue $641.1M vs. $634.4M), but analyst views are mixed with a consensus "Hold" and an average target of $236.50 amid diverging price targets and ratings.

Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 118,979 shares during the period. Morningstar makes up about 0.9% of Bamco Inc. NY's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Bamco Inc. NY owned approximately 3.44% of Morningstar worth $328,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 54.2% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman owned 8,184,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,314,629,973.56. This represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 85,243 shares of company stock worth $14,219,154. Insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MORN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. UBS Group set a $280.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.50.

Key Morningstar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullish thesis — Seeking Alpha publishes a buy/valuation piece arguing Morningstar is attractively priced versus its recurring-revenue, high-ROE business, supporting a long-term buy case. Morningstar: Wonderful Price And At Least A Fair Business
• Positive Sentiment: Another bullish analysis — a second Seeking Alpha article frames MORN as a "gold star opportunity," reiterating confidence in durable margins and recurring revenue that could support multiple expansion. Morningstar: A Gold Star Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: PitchBook integration with Perplexity — PitchBook (a Morningstar business) announced a new integration that surfaces PitchBook firmographic data inside Perplexity’s AI interface, potentially increasing enterprise distribution and stickiness for PitchBook data products. This advances AI-driven monetization opportunities. PitchBook Announces New Essential MCP Integration with Perplexity
• Positive Sentiment: New Credit Analytics product — Morningstar Credit Analytics launched credit models and a "Bring Your Own Loan" analysis service, expanding its product set for lenders and risk teams; this can drive incremental enterprise revenue and deepen client relationships. Morningstar Credit Analytics Launches Credit Models and ‘Bring Your Own Loan' Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor education/PR coverage — Pieces summarizing Morningstar guidance on private investments and investor education raise visibility but are largely informational rather than revenue-moving in the near term. How to bust myths about private investments, per Morningstar
• Negative Sentiment: Market headwinds — broader consumer/market stories and inflation worries are weighing on sentiment across sectors; macro concern could temper multiple expansion despite company-specific positives. Consumer Stocks Declined as Investors Worry About Inflation — Consumer Roundup

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $183.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $188.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.35. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.08 and a twelve month high of $316.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $641.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 27.94%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.