Congress Asset Management Co. MA Acquires 3,174 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,534 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $4,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in MarketAxess by 347.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in MarketAxess by 39.6% in the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in MarketAxess by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MKTX shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America started coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $236.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.73.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX opened at $199.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $206.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.98. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $192.54 and a one year high of $297.97. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.04.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 33.83%. The company had revenue of $210.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.