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Earlier this week, Morningstar, Inc. announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend to US$0.50 per share, payable on January 30, 2026, and unveiled major updates to its Morningstar Medalist Rating methodology scheduled to roll out globally in April 2026.
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The combination of a higher cash payout and a more transparent, fee-sensitive rating framework underscores Morningstar’s focus on both shareholder returns and improving how investors evaluate managed funds.
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Against this backdrop, we’ll explore how the enhanced dividend and revamped Medalist Rating reshape Morningstar’s investment narrative for long-term investors.
Find companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value.
To own Morningstar, you need to believe in the durability of its data and ratings franchises, where sticky subscription revenue and high returns on equity support a premium valuation despite slower forecast growth than the wider market. The 10% dividend bump to US$0.50 per share reinforces that cash generation remains healthy even after a bruising share price pullback and margin pressures over the past year, but it does not fundamentally change the near term story. The more meaningful catalyst is the overhaul of the Morningstar Medalist Rating in April 2026, which could deepen client reliance on Morningstar’s analytics if investors embrace the clearer fee and manager experience signals, or invite scrutiny if outcomes disappoint. That tension sits alongside existing risks around high expectations, rising costs and a relatively new management team.
Morningstar’s shares are on the way up, but could they be overextended? Uncover how much higher they are than fair value.
Eight fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community span roughly US$90 to a very large upper bound, showing how far apart individual views can be. Set against that, the coming Medalist methodology shift and Morningstar’s still elevated earnings multiple give you plenty of reasons to compare several perspectives before deciding what the business might realistically deliver.
Explore 8 other fair value estimates on Morningstar – why the stock might be worth over 2x more than the current price!
Disagree with this assessment? Create your own narrative in under 3 minutes – extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.
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A great starting point for your Morningstar research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
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Our free Morningstar research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual – the Snowflake – making it easy to evaluate Morningstar’s overall financial health at a glance.