UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 11.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 251,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,127 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $64,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,966,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 207.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 14,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 9,539 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MarketAxess by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 15,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,121 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 10,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $263.47 on Tuesday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $273.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.32.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $206.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.11%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.67, for a total transaction of $2,676,700.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 562,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,438,302.43. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKTX. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 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 boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.50.

MarketAxess 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.