MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 21.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 424 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in MarketAxess by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,828,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,580,000 after buying an additional 170,095 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 18.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,330,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,881,000 after acquiring an additional 204,960 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 53.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 820,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $164,447,000 after purchasing an additional 285,665 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 4.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 443,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,978,000 after purchasing an additional 17,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 393,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,911,000 after purchasing an additional 116,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX opened at $260.35 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $273.23 and its 200-day moving average is $238.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.05. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $192.42 and a fifty-two week high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company had revenue of $206.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.67, for a total value of $2,676,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 562,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,438,302.43. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MKTX shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.50.

About MarketAxess

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.