BlackRock Inc. Takes $453.94 Million Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 3,999,836 MarketAxess shares worth approximately $453.9 million during the second quarter, giving it an 11.25% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 99.01% of the company.
• MarketAxess beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.95 versus the $1.85 consensus, while revenue reached $218.4 million, down 0.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, equivalent to $3.12 annually and a 1.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $156.10.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,999,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $453,941,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 11.25% of MarketAxess at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 151.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 8.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in MarketAxess by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 200.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter worth $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX opened at $162.46 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.75 and a twelve month high of $195.96. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.83.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.10. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 22.48% and a net margin of 35.22%.The business had revenue of $218.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered MarketAxess from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair lowered MarketAxess from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $195.00 to $129.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $132.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.10.

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.

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