Copeland Capital Management LLC Purchases 17,378 Shares of Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,378 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $22,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Morningstar in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morningstar Trading Down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN opened at $177.63 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 company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $174.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.25. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.08 and a 1-year high of $316.71.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MORN shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. UBS Group set a $280.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Morningstar from $257.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.50.

More Morningstar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar has begun a global rollout of an updated Medalist Rating — a visible product upgrade that can strengthen Morningstar’s ratings franchise and help retain or grow advisor/subscriber revenue. Morningstar begins global rollout of updated Medalist Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Morningstar is considering changes to index construction ahead of the SpaceX IPO — a move that signals the firm is positioning its index business to capture licensing and ETF flows tied to major new listings. That could be a longer‑term revenue opportunity. Morningstar considers revamping index construction ahead of SpaceX IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive: Morningstar’s last reported quarter beat expectations on both EPS ($2.71 vs. $2.34) and revenue (~$641.1M vs. ~$634.4M), which underpins the company’s recurring‑revenue profile and margins.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar may relocate to Chicago’s Thompson Center — a facilities move that could affect office costs and local presence but is not a major near‑term revenue driver. Morningstar may move into Chicago’s Thompson Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple press items from Morningstar Japan K.K. redistributed third‑party company news (SBI Global Asset Management earnings, dividend lift, rebrand and stock‑option issuance). These reflect Morningstar’s local news/distribution activity but have limited direct impact on MORN’s corporate earnings. SBI Global Asset Management Beats Full-Year Forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Morningstar’s ongoing ratings and research activity (examples: a 5‑star ETF rating for QTUM and analyst commentary on names like EMCOR) show continued influence in the market, supporting its data/licensing value though the impact on near‑term stock moves is mixed. QTUM tops $4B AUM, earns 5-star Morningstar ratingEMCOR coverage (mentions Morningstar analyst views)
• Negative Sentiment: Technical and valuation pressure: the shares are trading below the 200‑day moving average and volume is elevated, suggesting profit‑taking and short‑term selling pressure despite solid fundamentals. That technical weakness and broader market sentiment appear to be driving today’s decline.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,122 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.32, for a total transaction of $569,203.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,138,232 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,483,762,458.24. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Holt purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.59 per share, with a total value of $186,590.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 9,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,768,873.20. The trade was a 11.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 84,643 shares of company stock valued at $14,088,066. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by 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.