Brokerages Set MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) PT at $200.40

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $200.40.

Several research analysts have issued reports on MKTX shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Argus lowered MarketAxess from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX opened at $174.01 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $176.49 and its 200-day moving average is $174.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $156.17 and a 12-month high of $232.84.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $209.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.06 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 29.14% and a return on equity of 20.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is currently 46.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 1.8% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in MarketAxess by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company’s network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.