MBB Public Markets I LLC Takes $318,000 Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has acquired a new position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc., purchasing 1,472 shares valued at approximately $318,000 during the 1st quarter of 2023.
• Various institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings in MarketAxess, with notable increases from Jones Financial Companies (151%) and Millennium Management (329.4%) in the same quarter.
• MarketAxess reported earnings of $2.00 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, reflecting an annual yield of 1.6%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in MarketAxess by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted 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 worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted 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 worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX traded down $0.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $184.44. The stock had a trading volume of 243,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 599,494. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.88. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $178.20 and a twelve month high of $296.68. The company's 50-day moving average price is $197.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.52.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $219.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MKTX shares. Argus raised MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.09.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.