Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.27 EPS

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $663.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $649.72 million. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 33.14%.

Morningstar Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MORN traded down $5.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $193.32. 407,665 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 528,493. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $141.49 and a twelve month 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 fifty day moving average price of $171.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.01.

Insider Activity at Morningstar

In related news, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,250 shares of Morningstar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 $1,348,872,005.16. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 64,720 shares of company stock worth $11,169,471 in the last three months. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morningstar

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MORN. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $246,910,000 after purchasing an additional 523,387 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 106.9% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 608,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $141,119,000 after acquiring an additional 314,275 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Morningstar by 1,196.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 260,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,713,000 after acquiring an additional 240,848 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Morningstar by 362.8% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 187,128 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,416,000 after purchasing an additional 146,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Morningstar by 78.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 286,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $66,395,000 after purchasing an additional 125,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MORN has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Morningstar in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $210.00 target price on Morningstar in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.33.

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.