Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.01), Yahoo Finance reports. Morningstar had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 22.34%. The company had revenue of $569.40 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MORN stock traded up $2.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $333.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 47,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,244. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $320.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.06. Morningstar has a 12-month low of $226.00 and a 12-month high of $349.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 58.25 and a beta of 1.19.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Morningstar in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 target price on shares of Morningstar in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total value of $2,742,523.68. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,217,579,503.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.64, for a total transaction of $2,742,523.68. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 10,631,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,217,579,503.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total transaction of $237,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,541 shares of company stock valued at $18,399,192. Company insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

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.