MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Raised to $198.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price objective boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $194.00 to $198.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $200.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $274.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price objective on MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut MarketAxess from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.91.

MarketAxess Trading Down 1.0%

MKTX stock opened at $169.73 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $173.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.01. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $156.17 and a 12-month high of $273.90. The company has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.94.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $208.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.59 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is 51.70%.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total transaction of $276,868.08. Following the sale, the executive owned 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,542,642.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 16.4% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 19,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,334,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in MarketAxess by 210.8% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after buying an additional 11,801 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter valued at $543,000. Ethic Inc. raised its position in MarketAxess by 190.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 3,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 1st quarter worth $362,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% 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.