MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Receives $266.89 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $266.89.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lowered MarketAxess from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $246.00 to $291.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd.

MarketAxess Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $217.75 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.75. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $200.01 and a twelve month high of $399.78.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $197.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.70 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 34.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is 43.21%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In related news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total transaction of $442,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 72 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is currently 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.