Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.15 EPS

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.15, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $591.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $580.81 million. Morningstar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 14.69%.

Morningstar Stock Performance

MORN stock opened at $311.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $328.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a PE ratio of 41.10 and a beta of 1.20. Morningstar has a 1-year low of $281.37 and a 1-year high of $365.00.

Morningstar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This is a positive change from Morningstar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Morningstar’s payout ratio is currently 24.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, CFO Jason Dubinsky sold 3,223 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.88, for a total value of $1,137,332.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 17,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,106,235.52. This trade represents a 15.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 3,635 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.44, for a total value of $1,182,974.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,142,694 shares in the company, valued at $3,300,838,335.36. This represents a 0.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,561 shares of company stock worth $13,300,821. Corporate insiders own 39.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

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.