Morningstar Runs the Numbers: Microsoft, 529s, and Muni Funds

Inspired by Harper's Index (with a tip of the hat to FiveThirtyEight's Significant Digits blog), Morningstar Runs the Numbers uses a numbers-based approach to highlight recent Morningstar research.

$155 Microsoft MSFT reported results that were ahead of consensus expectations, with meaningful upside to revenue, operating margin, and normalized earnings per share. We are raising our fair value estimate to $155 per share, from $143.

$46 billion Long-term open-end funds and exchange-traded funds rebounded with $46 billion in June inflows after experiencing nearly $2 billion in outflows in May. Long-term flows were strong during 2019's first half overall, totaling $224 billion, slightly ahead of $219 billion in 2018's first half.

3 Ben Johnson profiles a trio of U.S. large-cap dividend ETFs from outside our rated universe that he says are worth keeping on your radar.

529 Parents can choose from hundreds of 529 options run by 49 states and the District of Columbia. Aron Szapiro says that this complexity confuses people trying to save for college and that it is also far from clear why states should be managing investments for college.

2 Beth Foos examines two funds in the muni national long Morningstar Category, both of which are run by experienced teams with sophisticated analytic tools that they use to build their portfolios. Yet, a closer look at these funds reveals some noteworthy differences.

4 Mark Miller says that when considering the cost of healthcare in retirement, it's more important to think about the outsize risks beyond Medicare's protections that could upset your retirement plan. He discusses four key risks.

2.8 million Netflix NFLX posted another weak second quarter as subscriber growth came well below guidance and our expectations. The firm's subscriber growth in the international segment was 2.8 million net adds versus guidance of 4.7 million.

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