Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

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

Morningstar Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ MORN traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $333.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 110,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,545. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.19. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 58.35 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar has a 52 week low of $226.00 and a 52 week high of $349.07.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morningstar currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $360.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.94, for a total value of $225,629.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,532,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total transaction of $513,424.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 12,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,160,980.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.94, for a total value of $225,629.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,532,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,295,963,253.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,541 shares of company stock valued at $18,399,192. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Company 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.