Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.37 EPS

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The business services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.37, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $641.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $634.43 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 25.07%.

Morningstar Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MORN traded up $5.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $159.67. The company had a trading volume of 485,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 554,696. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $149.08 and a 1-year high of $330.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $205.76 and its 200-day moving average is $225.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 1.08.

Morningstar Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $250.00 price objective on Morningstar in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group set a $280.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morningstar

In other Morningstar news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.48, for a total transaction of $131,088.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $818,207.60. This trade represents a 13.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,214 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.84, for a total transaction of $523,367.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 8,212,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,314,055.28. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $8,118,321 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MORN. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Morningstar by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morningstar by 278.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 2,450.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 58.8% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 138,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,615,000 after purchasing an additional 51,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

Morningstar Company 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.