Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 783 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Shell Asset Management Co. reduced its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 347.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 1,030.8% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 155.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 2,428.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MarketAxess stock traded up $3.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $223.93. 50,761 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,904. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.26. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $192.42 and a fifty-two week high of $297.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.03.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $212.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America began coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.