Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.27 EPS

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.27, FiscalAI reports. Morningstar had a return on equity of 36.82% and a net margin of 16.43%.The business had revenue of $663.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.72 million.

Morningstar Stock Performance

Morningstar stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $193.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 125,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,849. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $141.49 and a 1-year high of $279.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.23. The company has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MORN. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 price target on shares of Morningstar in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director William M. Lyons sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.00, for a total transaction of $125,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,488,816. This represents a 4.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.23, for a total value of $1,205,167.50. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 8,114,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,348,872,005.16. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,470 shares of company stock worth $9,929,576. Company insiders own 38.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MORN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morningstar in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Morningstar in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Morningstar by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Morningstar by 23.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morningstar by 278.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Morningstar

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.