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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 239.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,992 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 36.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of Morningstar 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 sale, the director directly owned 13,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,488,816. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Holt sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.05, for a total value of $44,833.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 12,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,046,732.30. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 67,842 shares of company stock worth $11,738,674. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MORN. UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on Morningstar in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.50.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:MORN opened at $176.67 on Thursday. Morningstar, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.08 and a 12 month high of $316.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $3.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.77. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%. The business had revenue of $644.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $626.91 million.

Key Stories Impacting Morningstar

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

Morningstar 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.