Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 107,315 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.85% of MarketAxess worth $64,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 30.3% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 2,425,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $531,878,000 after acquiring an additional 564,820 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 21.2% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,657,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,508,000 after purchasing an additional 290,347 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 716,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,134,000 after buying an additional 204,660 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 7,385.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 159,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,733,000 after purchasing an additional 157,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Owls Nest Partners IA LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $19,073,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $254.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.88 and a 200-day moving average of $219.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.42, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 1.07. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $192.42 and a one year high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.71% and a return on equity of 20.43%. The firm had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.47%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 at this link. 2.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.60.

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.