StockNews.com Upgrades MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on MKTX. Barclays lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an underperform rating and a $199.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $238.10.

MarketAxess Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $236.06 on Wednesday. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $209.92 and a 200 day moving average of $214.71. The stock has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.03.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 33.83%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is currently 43.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total value of $142,915.71. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total value of $142,915.71. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in MarketAxess by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,330,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $266,881,000 after purchasing an additional 204,960 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 3,066.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 164,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,014,000 after purchasing an additional 159,436 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MarketAxess by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 323,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,784,000 after purchasing an additional 107,315 shares in the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 4,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

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.