Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 17.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,059 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $68,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $674,000. abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 15,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,681,000 after buying an additional 6,555 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 184,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,487. The firm has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $217.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.77. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $192.42 and a 1 year high of $297.97.

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

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

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MarketAxess news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of MarketAxess 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 owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,034,895.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.