Brokerages Set MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target at $238.60

Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $238.60.

MKTX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on 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 boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ MKTX opened at $259.83 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $235.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.80. MarketAxess has a 1 year low of $192.42 and a 1 year high of $297.97. 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 company has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.15, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.07.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The firm had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is 43.47%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.0% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 0.7% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,479,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in MarketAxess by 155.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

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.