MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in MarketAxess by 469.1% in Q3, owning 486,106 shares (about 1.31% of the company) valued at roughly $84.7 million.
• MarketAxess missed quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.68 vs. $1.72 expected and revenue of $209.41M vs. $214.06M, though revenue was up 3.5% year-over-year and net margin remained strong (29.1%).
• Analysts have trimmed price targets and the consensus rating is "Hold" with a consensus price target of $200.40; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.78 (annualized $3.12, yield 1.7%).

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 469.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 486,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 400,691 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 1.31% of MarketAxess worth $84,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 8.4% in the 1st 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 increased its stake in MarketAxess by 40.7% in the 1st 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. increased its stake in 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. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter worth about $406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $212.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $200.40.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ MKTX opened at $181.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.00. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.17 and a 52-week high of $232.84.

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

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.85%.

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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