Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its Morningstar stake by 239% in the fourth quarter, ending with 8,499 shares worth about $1.85 million.
• Morningstar reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.18 beating estimates by $0.77 and revenue of $644.8 million topping analyst forecasts.
• Sentiment around the stock is mixed: analysts currently have a Hold consensus with a $236.50 price target, while recent insider selling and some negative commentary may weigh on investor confidence.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 239.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,499 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 9.2% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,414,305 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $328,133,000 after buying an additional 118,979 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 106.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $141,119,000 after buying an additional 314,275 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 26.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 420,127 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $97,482,000 after buying an additional 88,496 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 34.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,478 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $73,891,000 after buying an additional 82,154 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Morningstar by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 296,302 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $68,745,000 after acquiring an additional 15,379 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $176.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.99. Morningstar, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.08 and a twelve month high of $316.71.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $626.91 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 33.14% and a net margin of 16.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.50.

Key Morningstar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar continues to receive visibility through market commentary and personal finance coverage, including articles on AI spending cycles, retirement spending, dividend investing, and global markets, which helps keep the brand and its research platform in front of investors. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s commentary on dividend growth investing reinforces Morningstar’s reputation as a trusted source for long-term investing analysis, which can support its subscription and data businesses over time. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar’s analysts were quoted in coverage of India fund flows and semiconductor trends, highlighting the firm’s influence in market commentary but offering no clear direct earnings or revenue catalyst for Morningstar, Inc. NASDAQ: MORN. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: A Morningstar-linked discussion about asset owners’ perspectives suggests the company remains part of broader investment-industry debate, but it does not by itself signal a meaningful near-term stock driver. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares at $179, a move that may weigh on sentiment because insider selling can be interpreted as reduced confidence in the near-term outlook. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: A recent Seeking Alpha piece argued that Morningstar’s “data moat” is starting to shrink, which could pressure the stock if investors worry about competition or slowing pricing power in the company’s core data and analytics businesses. Article title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total transaction of $1,205,167.50. Following the sale, the chairman owned 8,114,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,348,872,005.16. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 67,842 shares of company stock worth $11,738,674. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company's stock.

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.

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