Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 236.4%, bringing its total worth to $746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares.
• MarketAxess reported earnings of $2.00 EPS for the recent quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.94 EPS, and experienced a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.0%.
• There has been recent activity from analysts, with Morgan Stanley lowering its price target from $283 to $274 while still maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 236.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,423 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 49.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 57.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the first quarter worth $56,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the first quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 173.0% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $204.00 price target (up from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $229.70.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MarketAxess stock traded up $2.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $190.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 248,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 589,753. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.99 and a fifty-two week high of $296.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $214.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.84.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

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

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.