Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Trims Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lessened its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 28.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,745 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.16% of MarketAxess worth $12,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 440,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $99,669,000 after acquiring an additional 11,291 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MarketAxess by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,491,000 after purchasing an additional 4,258 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in MarketAxess by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth about $296,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,512,000 after buying an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MKTX traded down $3.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $220.06. 277,992 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 613,886. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.84 and a 1-year high of $296.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $220.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.27. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.85.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. MarketAxess's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. MarketAxess's payout ratio is 52.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MKTX shares. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $213.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.