MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Stock Holdings Reduced by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 59.4%, selling 3,840 shares and now owns 2,624 shares valued at $568,000.
• MarketAxess reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.94, with revenue of $219.46 million for the quarter, reflecting an 11% increase year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 51.18%.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 59.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,840 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 173.0% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX traded down $2.81 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $184.70. The stock had a trading volume of 62,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 588,386. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.99 and a 52 week high of $296.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $206.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.02. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.84.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $219.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. MarketAxess's payout ratio is currently 51.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $204.00 target price (up from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Argus raised MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.09.

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.