Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.19 EPS

Key Points

• Morningstar reported quarterly earnings of $2.40 EPS, exceeding estimates by $0.19, while revenue was slightly below expectations at $605.10 million.
• The company's stock decreased by 1.5%, trading at $272.42 with a market cap of $11.51 billion.
• Morningstar declared a quarterly dividend of $0.455, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 19.38%.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.19, Zacks reports. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 17.22%. The business had revenue of $605.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.84 million.

Morningstar Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MORN traded down $4.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $272.42. The company had a trading volume of 542,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 313,895. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business's 50 day moving average price is $299.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.81. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01 and a beta of 1.01. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $250.34 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Morningstar's payout ratio is currently 19.38%.

Insider Transactions at Morningstar

In related news, Director Caroline J. Tsay sold 200 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.84, for a total value of $61,968.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,345 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,346,254.80. The trade was a 4.40% 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. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 1,246 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.52, for a total value of $381,923.92. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 9,427,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,820,290.72. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,569 shares of company stock worth $16,333,474. 36.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 23.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 278.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Morningstar by 3.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,838 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,151,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MORN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morningstar from $339.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Morningstar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.