Peak Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,075,000. MarketAxess makes up 1.6% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in MarketAxess by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,103,000 after buying an additional 5,153 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $539,000. Taika Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,689,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,079,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ MKTX traded down $3.91 on Friday, hitting $222.22. 460,002 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,594. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.84 and a 1-year high of $296.68. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $218.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.84.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. The business had revenue of $208.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. MarketAxess's payout ratio is 52.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MKTX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $241.78.

MarketAxess Company 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.