Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 11,584 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB cut its stake in Morningstar by 13.1%, selling 11,584 shares and now holding 76,524 shares (about 0.19% of the company) valued at roughly $16.67 million.
• Morningstar beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $2.71 versus $2.34 and revenue of $641.1M, and the stock trades at a $6.51B market cap with a P/E of 18.45 and a consensus "Hold" target of $236.50.
• Insider activity is mixed—CFO Michael Holt bought 1,000 shares at ~$186.59 while Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 3,122 shares; insiders sold 85,243 shares (~$14.2M) over the last three months but still own 36.20% of the stock.

Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,524 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,584 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.19% of Morningstar worth $16,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morningstar in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 54.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 142.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 177 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $164.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 1.10. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.08 and a 52 week high of $316.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $183.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 27.94% and a net margin of 15.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MORN. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Morningstar from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael Holt acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.59 per share, for a total transaction of $186,590.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,873.20. The trade was a 11.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,122 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total transaction of $569,203.04. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 8,138,232 shares in the company, valued at $1,483,762,458.24. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 85,243 shares of company stock valued at $14,219,154 over the last three months. 36.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morningstar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar’s board is recommending shareholders approve the Insignia acquisition, a strategic move to expand its advice/distribution footprint that could support revenue growth and cross‑sell opportunities. Morningstar recommends shareholders approve Insignia acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party index activity highlights the value of Morningstar’s recent CRSP acquisition: an S&P/CRSP index inclusion for another issuer (AtaiBeckley) underscores ongoing demand for CRSP benchmark indexing and passive fund position‑building — a modest positive for Morningstar’s data/index licensing franchise. AtaiBeckley added to S&P Total Market & CRSP indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar-produced research and commentary published today (on RMD timing, airline profit revision themes, and AI’s industry impact) are business-as-usual content that maintain brand relevance but are unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. Retirees, Should You Take RMDs Early in the Year or Wait?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar Australia pieces on lowering profit forecasts for Aussie airlines and on AI’s competitive effects reflect editorial coverage tied to Morningstar’s analyst work — useful for long‑term credibility but not immediate drivers of MORN share moves. Lowering profit forecasts on Aussie airlines
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory and market updates out of Japan (SBI Global Asset Management board/stock‑option items) were circulated by local feeds that mention Morningstar Japan K.K.; these are operational/regulatory notes with limited direct impact on Morningstar’s US‑listed equity. SBI Global Asset Management Issues New Stock Options
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple short‑interest notices flagged a “significant increase” in March shorting, which can pressure sentiment; however, the underlying filings show 0 shares and NaN changes — indicating a likely reporting/data error. Still, headline language around rising short interest may have contributed to intraday selling.

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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