Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, reports. Morningstar had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The business had revenue of $542.80 million during the quarter.

Morningstar Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Morningstar stock traded down $1.17 on Friday, hitting $286.29. The stock had a trading volume of 110,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,408. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $301.12 and a 200 day moving average of $280.26. Morningstar has a twelve month low of $163.28 and a twelve month high of $316.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.84 and a beta of 1.15.

Morningstar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Morningstar’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MORN. StockNews.com raised shares of Morningstar from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. TheStreet raised shares of Morningstar from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd.

Insider Activity

In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morningstar news, Director Steven N. Kaplan sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.81, for a total transaction of $383,512.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,630,647.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Joseph D. Mansueto sold 7,470 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.23, for a total transaction of $2,070,908.10. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 10,927,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,334,071.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,544 shares of company stock valued at $27,733,515 over the last quarter. 39.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Morningstar

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morningstar by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,576,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $737,546,000 after buying an additional 23,812 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,957,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $458,481,000 after purchasing an additional 19,119 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,326,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $310,745,000 after purchasing an additional 98,191 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,075,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $307,917,000 after purchasing an additional 67,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Morningstar by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 562,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $173,334,000 after purchasing an additional 28,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.02% of the company’s stock.

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.