Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,498 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of MarketAxess worth $37,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the 1st 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 405.1% during the 2nd 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. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in MarketAxess by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX opened at $257.27 on Friday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The stock has a market cap of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.91.

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

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MKTX shares. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 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. Company insiders own 2.66% 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.