Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Acquires Shares of 8,750 MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its position in MarketAxess by 2.9% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 1.0% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 0.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MarketAxess news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX opened at $257.49 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $238.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.85. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.71% and a return on equity of 20.43%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.