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

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

Morningstar Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded up $2.43 during midday 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 has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.06. Morningstar has a one year low of $226.00 and a one year high of $349.07. The company has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.25 and a beta of 1.19.

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 payout ratio is currently 28.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morningstar has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $360.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.48, for a total value of $237,360.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at $4,300,963.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 8,056 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.95, for a total value of $2,464,733.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,517,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,217,754,779.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William M. Lyons sold 750 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,300,963.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,541 shares of company stock worth $18,399,192 in the last ninety days. 39.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.