Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases 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 boosted its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 6,904.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,323,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $502,585,000 after acquiring an additional 24,606 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 680,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $147,118,000 after acquiring an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 329.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 618,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,904,000 after acquiring an additional 474,776 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 402,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,083,000 after acquiring an additional 158,240 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 372,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $80,583,000 after acquiring an additional 9,244 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $204.00 target price (up from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $228.09.

MarketAxess Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ MKTX traded down $3.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $184.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 648,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,631. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $178.20 and a 52 week high of $296.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 31.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $198.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.34.

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

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

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

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.