Ashford Capital Management Inc. Has $15.45 Million Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Ashford Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 60,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,603 shares during the quarter. MarketAxess comprises about 1.9% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $15,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth $1,966,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 25.6% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 15,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in MarketAxess by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,265,000 after buying an additional 10,361 shares during the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 164,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 32.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 82,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,237,000 after buying an additional 20,334 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $240.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.00. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $192.42 and a 12 month high of $297.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $272.72 and its 200 day moving average is $241.41.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $206.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.67, for a total value of $2,676,700.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 562,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,438,302.43. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total value of $72,171.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,183,871 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKTX. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $289.00 to $260.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $266.70.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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.