Congress Asset Management Co. Boosts Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 341,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,177 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.91% of MarketAxess worth $73,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $539,000. Taika Capital LP acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $2,689,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $46,079,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded down $3.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.22. The company had a trading volume of 460,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,633. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.84 and a twelve month high of $296.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. The firm had revenue of $208.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MKTX shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.78.

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.