MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $235.00 to $210.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. MarketAxess traded as low as $191.91 and last traded at $191.91, with a volume of 50922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.20.

MKTX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total transaction of $72,171.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,997,212.14. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the fourth quarter worth about $1,088,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the third quarter worth about $1,966,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the fourth quarter worth about $982,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 22.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 10,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in MarketAxess by 461.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,041,000 after acquiring an additional 47,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $246.46.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 33.56%. As a group, analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.82%.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer companies worldwide. The company offers trading technology that provides liquidity access in U.S. high-grade bonds, U.S. high-yield bonds, emerging market debt, eurobonds, municipal bonds, U.S.