Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in MarketAxess by 54.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 44,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,019,000 after buying an additional 15,924 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 10,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 177,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,558,000 after purchasing an additional 46,470 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 422.0% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 5,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $259.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.08, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.09. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.43% and a net margin of 33.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MKTX. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays cut their price target on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.