Shell Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 285.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,133 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in MarketAxess by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in MarketAxess by 495.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 13,900.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its position in MarketAxess by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair started coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.78.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $218.62. 56,269 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,151. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $217.94 and a 200-day moving average of $223.95. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.84 and a 12 month high of $296.68. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.89.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. The firm had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.87%.

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.