1,783 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,783 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $535,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MORN. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,798 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Morningstar by 3.4% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Morningstar by 10.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 516 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $155,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Morningstar by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 416 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.86, for a total transaction of $2,246,485.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 9,442,731 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,924,627.66. The trade was a 0.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,398 shares of company stock valued at $15,079,996. 36.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MORN traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.92. 239,084 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,849. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52 week low of $250.34 and a 52 week high of $365.00. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19. Morningstar had a net margin of 17.22% and a return on equity of 23.54%. The firm had revenue of $605.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is 19.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

About Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc provides independent investment insights in the United States, Asia. Australia, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Morningstar Data and Analytics; PitchBook; Morningstar Wealth; Morningstar Credit; and Morningstar Retirement.