MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires New Shares in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 405.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 47.4% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in MarketAxess in the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their target price 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MarketAxess news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $255.85 on Wednesday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $192.42 and a 12-month high of $297.97. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $241.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.11.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is presently 43.47%.

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

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.