MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $188.67 and last traded at $188.62, with a volume of 45209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.78.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $216.37 and its 200 day moving average is $244.73.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 33.56%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is presently 41.82%.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In other news, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total transaction of $72,171.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,997,212.14. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 15,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,953,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in MarketAxess by 1.0% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 4.0% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.