MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Shares Purchased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV boosted its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 655.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,886 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $2,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 200.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 992.9% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Up 1.1%

MKTX opened at $179.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.42. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $156.17 and a one year high of $232.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $174.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.38.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.04). MarketAxess had a net margin of 29.14% and a return on equity of 20.88%. The firm had revenue of $209.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MKTX shares. Zacks Research raised MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Argus reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $212.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.40.

MarketAxess Company Profile

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company’s network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.