Krilogy Financial LLC Makes New Investment in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKTX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in MarketAxess by 151.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 8.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 40.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the second quarter worth about $406,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $179.36 on Friday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $156.17 and a one year high of $232.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.77 and a 200-day moving average of $176.38. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 3.42.

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

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MarketAxess from $194.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.