MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,947 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. owned about 0.07% of MarketAxess worth $5,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in MarketAxess by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 1.4% in 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 bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Taika Capital LP acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $2,689,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,079,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $226.89. 377,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 500,414. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $219.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.17. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.84 and a 12-month high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MKTX shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.78.

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.