Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morningstar had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 38.57%. The business had revenue of $672.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $664.75 million.

Morningstar Stock Down 0.4%

Morningstar stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.86. 235,507 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 457,658. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $205.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 1.02. Morningstar has a 52-week low of $141.49 and a 52-week high of $226.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morningstar news, Chairman Joseph Mansueto sold 7,906 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.26, for a total transaction of $1,662,315.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 7,960,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,789,448.20. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 86,500 shares of company stock worth $17,824,451 over the last three months. 38.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Morningstar News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morningstar this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations. Revenue increased 8.9% year over year to $672.1 million, above the $664.75 million consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS was reported at $3.48, beating expectations of $3.04 by $0.44. Morningstar quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Operating performance strengthened. Operating income rose 31.0% to $167.4 million, while diluted EPS increased 41.0% to $3.06. Organic revenue growth was 6.8%, or 7.8% excluding sunset products. Morningstar Credit and Morningstar Direct Platform were the leading contributors. Morningstar Q3 revenue report
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based and capital returns continued. Morningstar Credit revenue grew 18.3%, Morningstar Retirement revenue rose 21.3%, and the company repurchased approximately $100 million of stock during the quarter, supporting per-share value.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cash generation was comparatively softer. Operating cash flow fell 2.6% to $190.7 million and free cash flow declined 2.9% to $155.4 million, despite the increase in earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling may weigh on sentiment. Insiders reported no purchases and 132 sales over the past six months, including substantial sales by Executive Chairman Joseph Mansueto. Institutional positioning was also mixed, with 184 investors adding shares and 265 reducing positions.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Morningstar from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Morningstar from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morningstar from $230.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.