MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Cut to $230.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $235.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued an outperform rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $249.73.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.7 %

MKTX opened at $202.21 on Wednesday. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $198.01 and a 12-month high of $303.85. The company has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.73.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $210.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.99 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.29% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.21%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $442,520.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 70,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 1,030.8% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 47.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 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.