GW&K Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• GW&K Investment Management cut its stake in MarketAxess by 78.7% in Q3, selling 113,395 shares and retaining 30,621 shares worth about $5.34 million (≈0.08% of the company).
• MarketAxess slightly missed quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.68 vs. $1.72 expected and revenue of $209.4M (up 3.5% YoY), and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.78 ($3.12 annualized, ~1.7% yield).
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Hold with a $200.40 target, while the stock trades near $186 (1‑year range $156.17–$232.84) and the company has a market cap of ~$6.62 billion.

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 78.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 113,395 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of MarketAxess worth $5,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% in the 1st 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. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in MarketAxess by 992.9% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.9%

MKTX opened at $186.11 on Friday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.17 and a 1-year high of $232.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $176.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.93.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $209.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.06 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.88% and a net margin of 29.14%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKTX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MarketAxess from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research upgraded MarketAxess from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $212.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $200.40.

MarketAxess Profile

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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