Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 151,848 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 65.2%, leaving the fund with approximately 81,086 shares worth about $17.55 million.
• MarketAxess reported a profit of $2.00 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $219.46 million, representing an 11% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, equating to an annual yield of 1.6%, to be paid on September 3rd.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 65.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 151,848 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.22% of MarketAxess worth $17,554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $189.78. 551,893 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 671,666. The company's 50 day moving average price is $207.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.18. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 31.95, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.84. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $182.99 and a 52 week high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.The company had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MKTX. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $228.09.

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.