MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. by 1.4%, holding approximately $43.49 million worth of shares at the end of the most recent quarter.
• MarketAxess reported $2.00 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.94 and showcasing a 11.0% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 51.18%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 201,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,832 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of MarketAxess worth $43,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the first quarter valued at $280,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 1st quarter valued at about $376,000. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. grew its position in MarketAxess by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. now owns 60,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,087,000 after purchasing an additional 12,697 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 210.8% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 11,801 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 13.6% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 24,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,338,000 after buying an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.2%

MKTX stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $189.78. 551,893 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 592,634. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.33. The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.84. 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 issued 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 net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $219.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. MarketAxess's revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKTX. Barclays reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Argus upgraded MarketAxess from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $212.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $204.00 price objective (up previously from $202.00) on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.09.

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.