MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Price Up 3.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) shares shot up 3.5% during trading on Thursday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $189.00 to $191.00. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the stock. MarketAxess traded as high as $220.03 and last traded at $218.18. 99,555 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 462,906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $210.83.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MKTX. Barclays cut their target price on MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in MarketAxess by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 495.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 13,900.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 49.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Up 3.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.18.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.82%.

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.