Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.44 EPS

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.44, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $672.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.75 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 38.57% and a net margin of 16.43%.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Shares of Morningstar stock traded up $2.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $217.42. 43,813 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 455,469. Morningstar has a 12 month low of $141.49 and a 12 month high of $226.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 5,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.84, for a total value of $1,238,415.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,938,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,737,193,937.28. This trade represents a 0.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451. Insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.67.

Morningstar Company Profile

Morningstar, Inc is a global provider of independent investment research, data, and financial technology. The company serves asset managers, financial advisors, institutions, retirement plans, and individual investors with information designed to support investment analysis and decision-making.

Its products and services include research and ratings on mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds, and other investments; portfolio analysis and planning tools; investment-management and advisory services; and software and data solutions for financial professionals and institutions.