Bamco Inc. NY Cuts Stock Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Bamco Inc. NY decreased its stake in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,241,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 172,511 shares during the period. Morningstar comprises about 0.7% of Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $269,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,006,325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $435,995,000 after acquiring an additional 47,360 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 48.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 900,297 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,644,000 after acquiring an additional 292,053 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 471,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,566,000 after acquiring an additional 51,844 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 365,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $79,440,000 after acquiring an additional 47,082 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 5.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 296,302 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $68,745,000 after acquiring an additional 15,379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.50.

Morningstar News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar Wealth is launching public/private model portfolios with major partners Apollo, Franklin Templeton and J.P. Morgan, potentially broadening its wealth platform and creating a new growth avenue. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar’s new report says the semiliquid fund market is nearing $600 billion, underscoring strong demand trends in an area where Morningstar can expand research and product coverage. Business Wire article
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar also highlighted that advisors are shifting toward private equity and venture capital, reinforcing the relevance of its alternative-investment research and platform. InvestmentNews article
• Neutral Sentiment: The firm’s commentary on SpaceX being “wildly overvalued” is more market commentary than a direct earnings driver, but it keeps Morningstar visible as a valuation-focused research provider. MSN article
• Negative Sentiment: Investor reaction may also reflect broader caution around alternative assets and private-credit trends, even as Morningstar’s research suggests growth in semiliquid products. Business Wire article

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of MORN opened at $164.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $177.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.08 and a 1 year high of $316.71.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $644.80 million for 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total value of $44,833.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 12,326 shares in the company, valued at $2,046,732.30. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total value of $401,154.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,043,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,445,906.24. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471 over the last ninety days. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.