Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 47,131 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.38% of MarketAxess worth $32,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,434,946 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,002,475,000 after acquiring an additional 90,805 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,300,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,013,000 after purchasing an additional 341,493 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,298,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $519,533,000 after purchasing an additional 236,118 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in MarketAxess by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,000,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $452,246,000 after acquiring an additional 236,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,369,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,472,000 after acquiring an additional 30,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Trading Down 1.4%

MKTX traded down $3.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $219.64. 445,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 500,485. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $217.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.44. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.84 and a 1-year high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 33.56%. The firm had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.78.

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.