Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) released its earnings results 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. Morningstar had a return on equity of 22.34% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $569.40 million for the quarter.

Morningstar Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MORN stock traded up $1.20 on Friday, hitting $332.54. The company had a trading volume of 45,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 114,231. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $320.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $307.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $14.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25 and a beta of 1.19. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $226.00 and a twelve month high of $349.07.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Morningstar in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Morningstar from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $352.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $360.67.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total transaction of $513,424.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 12,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,160,980.63. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morningstar news, CRO Daniel Joseph Dunn sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.89, for a total transaction of $513,424.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 9,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 10,631,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,217,579,503.84. This 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 over the last ninety days. 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.