1,690 Shares in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,690 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,563 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,464 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Morningstar by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 467 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $245,000. Finally, Genesis Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. This represents a 4.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 4,080 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.46, for a total transaction of $1,319,716.80. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,072,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,258,192,525.48. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,775 shares of company stock worth $22,940,083. Corporate insiders own 36.20% of the company's stock.

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock traded up $4.90 on Tuesday, hitting $309.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 169,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,671. Morningstar, Inc. has a 52-week low of $250.34 and a 52-week high of $365.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $290.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $315.72. The company has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.82 and a beta of 0.99.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The business services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.13. Morningstar had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $581.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $589.07 million.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Morningstar's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. Morningstar's dividend payout ratio is 20.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Morningstar from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Morningstar Profile

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.