MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Holdings Lifted by Raymond James Trust N.A.

Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 7.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MKTX. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 28,547.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 13,132 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 10,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,014,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.60.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX opened at $235.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $218.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.86. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 20.82%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.47%.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total transaction of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 2.66% 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.