Guardian Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. significantly reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 87.4% during the first quarter, leaving it with just 1,715 shares valued at $373,000.
• MarketAxess reported earnings of $2.00 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting an 11.0% year-over-year revenue increase with total revenue of $219.46 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.6%, with a payout ratio of 51.18%.

Guardian Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 87.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,885 shares during the quarter. Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in MarketAxess by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter worth $56,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 173.0% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.85. 648,627 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,729. The stock has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.88. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $178.20 and a 1 year high of $296.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $197.83 and a 200 day moving average of $210.52.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MarketAxess news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MKTX. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $204.00 price target (up previously from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Argus raised MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.09.

MarketAxess 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.