Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys 3,314 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its shares in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 6,904.2% during Q1, now holding 3,362 shares valued at approximately $727,000.
• MarketAxess reported $2.00 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, with revenue increasing by 11.0% year-over-year to $219.46 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, implying an annualized yield of 1.6%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 6,904.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 161,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,503,000 after purchasing an additional 33,949 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in MarketAxess by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 264,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,872,000 after acquiring an additional 43,576 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $204.00 target price (up previously from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $228.09.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 648,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,647. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $178.20 and a 1-year high of $296.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $197.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.39.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.MarketAxess's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. Analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.