Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Morningstar, Inc. $MORN

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:MORN) by 23.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morningstar were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Morningstar during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morningstar during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MORN shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price target on Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Morningstar Price Performance

MORN opened at $192.57 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $172.26 and a 200-day moving average of $177.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Morningstar, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.49 and a 1-year high of $279.33.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The business services provider reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $663.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total value of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This trade represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 2,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.72, for a total value of $401,154.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 8,043,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,445,906.24. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 50,220 shares of company stock valued at $8,697,294 over the last three months. 38.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morningstar Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a leading provider of independent investment research, data, and analytics, serving both individual investors and financial professionals. The company offers comprehensive coverage of financial products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stocks, bonds and market indexes. Morningstar’s proprietary rating systems and research methodologies help clients assess the risk and return profiles of investment opportunities and make informed decisions.

Its core products include Morningstar Direct, an institutional investment analysis platform; Morningstar Office Cloud, a portfolio management solution for advisors; and Morningstar Data, which delivers extensive datasets through APIs and data feeds.