Morningstar, Inc. - MORN STOCK NEWS

Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) has launched the Morningstar Market Monitoring platform, a web-based tool designed to provide real-time market information and insights for financial advisors, traders, and analysts. The platform integrates with existing workflows and offers customizable dashboards featuring over 40 configurable components to track diverse market elements including stocks, ETFs, and fixed income. Users will benefit from live news updates from Dow Jones, enhancing their ability to respond to market events. This innovation aims to improve decision-making and increase transparency for investors.

Morningstar, Inc. (MORN) reported that U.S. mutual funds and ETFs attracted nearly $112 billion in inflows during November 2020, marking the eighth consecutive month of inflows. ETFs saw a record $97 billion in inflows, surpassing June 2019's previous record. Notably, U.S. equity funds garnered $36 billion in inflows, while taxable-bond funds brought in $52 billion, totaling $368 billion year-to-date. However, commodities funds experienced $5 billion in outflows. iShares led fund families with $31 billion in inflows, while Dimensional Fund Advisors saw $1.9 billion in outflows.

Morningstar published its biannual Global Investor Experience report, revealing significant insights into mutual fund disclosure practices across 26 markets. India and the U.S. received Top grades for their transparency in managing investor information. The report introduced two new dimensions: Sales Disclosure and ESG and Stewardship Disclosure, highlighting a growing emphasis on environmental factors. Conversely, Australia was noted for having the weakest disclosure regime, lacking regulated portfolio holdings disclosure, which has not adapted to modern investor expectations.

Morningstar declared a quarterly dividend of 31.5 cents per share, a 5% increase from the previous rate of 30 cents, effective Jan. 29, 2021. This raises the annualized dividend to $1.26, up from $1.20. The board also approved a new $400 million share repurchase program effective Jan. 1, 2021. Morningstar aims to enhance shareholder value by repurchasing shares at prevailing market prices. This marks the 10th consecutive year of dividend increases, reflecting the company's resilience and commitment to sustainable growth.

Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN) reported that U.S. mutual funds and ETFs attracted $13 billion in October 2020, maintaining consistent inflows for seven consecutive months. However, U.S. equity funds faced significant outflows of $46 billion, primarily affecting actively managed funds. In contrast, taxable-bond funds saw robust inflows of $62 billion, with total year-to-date inflows reaching $316 billion. Vanguard led fund families with inflows of $12.8 billion, while SPDR experienced the largest outflows at $7 billion.

Morningstar reported a strong third quarter for 2020, with revenue rising by 13.8% to $357.2 million, and organic revenue growth of 8.0%. Operating income saw a decline of 10.7% to $44.3 million, while adjusted operating income soared 42.3% year-over-year. Diluted net income per share increased 54.4% to $1.76, boosted by a $1.18 gain from Sustainalytics. Cash flow from operations dropped 11.6%, and free cash flow fell 17.3%. Total assets under management rose 15.6% to $170.3 billion.

Morningstar updates ratings for 61 of the largest 529 college-savings plans, covering about 97% of $363 billion in assets as of August 30, 2020. Analysts assigned three Gold, 10 Silver, 22 Bronze, 18 Neutral, and eight Negative ratings. Key trends include slowing asset growth and increased cost-cutting among plans. Enhanced rating methodology prioritizes pricing assessments, resulting in downgrades for high-fee advisor-sold plans and upgrades for lower-fee direct-sold plans. Overall, 12 plans were upgraded, while 15 were downgraded, with adjustments in coverage for several plans.

Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN) is reorganizing its research structure, effective Jan. 1, 2021. This includes merging quantitative and qualitative research teams and appointing a chief ratings officer to enhance ratings integrity. Lee Davidson will lead these combined teams, while Jeffrey Ptak will assume the chief ratings officer role, overseeing new rating methodologies. Morningstar aims to improve investor services by integrating qualitative insights with quantitative analytics as it expands its investment offerings across multiple asset classes.