MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $249.80.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MKTX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price target on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $278.10 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $250.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.30. MarketAxess has a 12 month low of $192.42 and a 12 month high of $297.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.07, a PEG ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.07 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total value of $142,915.71. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,146.67. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.9% during the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 155.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.