MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) PT Lowered to $237.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $250.00 to $237.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MKTX. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an underperform rating and a $199.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $252.80.

MarketAxess Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $204.94 on Friday. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $200.01 and a 12-month high of $341.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $218.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.98.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.11. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 34.29%. The company had revenue of $197.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $196.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 EPS. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is currently 43.21%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. Bangor Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the first quarter worth $1,486,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in MarketAxess during the first quarter valued at $72,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in MarketAxess by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.