Primecap Management Co. CA Has $294.56 Million Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. has reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 0.6%, now owning 1,361,512 shares valued at approximately $294.6 million.
• MarketAxess reported quarterly earnings of $1.87 per share, beating analyst expectations of $1.82, although its revenue decreased by 0.8% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on MarketAxess, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $240.67, while several institutions have adjusted their positions significantly.

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,361,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,590 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 3.66% of MarketAxess worth $294,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 49.1% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 185.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 57.4% in 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. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the first quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter worth about $65,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $283.00 to $274.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $204.00 price target (up from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $295.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $232.11.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:MKTX traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.31. The company had a trading volume of 21,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 584,903. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $216.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.80. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $182.99 and a one year high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $218.05 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. MarketAxess's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 51.18%.

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.