Headlands Technologies LLC Buys 3,658 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stock position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 132.6%, owning 6,416 shares worth approximately $1.39 million by the end of the first quarter.
• MarketAxess reported $2.00 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing an 11.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with an annual yield of 1.6%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 51.18%.

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 132.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 49.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 57.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in MarketAxess in the first quarter worth $56,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in MarketAxess in the first quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 173.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MKTX. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $204.00 price objective (up previously from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $229.70.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MarketAxess stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $188.28. 195,693 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 589,116. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $215.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.84. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $182.99 and a one year high of $296.68.

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

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. MarketAxess's payout ratio is 51.18%.

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.