Vanguard Group Inc. Has $695.98 Million Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake by 0.4% in the fourth quarter to 3,839,889 shares (10.33% of MarketAxess), valued at about $695.98 million, and institutional investors/hedge funds now own roughly 99.01% of the stock.
• MarketAxess missed the latest quarter with EPS of $1.68 versus $1.72 expected and revenue of $209.41 million versus $214.06 million, though revenue was up 3.5% year-over-year; the company reported a net margin of 29.14% and ROE of 20.88%.
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $201.11; the company has a $5.38 billion market cap, a PE of 22.95, and a 52‑week range of $152.76–$232.84.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,839,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,423 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.33% of MarketAxess worth $695,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 66.6% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 2,230,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,681,000 after purchasing an additional 891,303 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 6.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,948,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,549,000 after purchasing an additional 119,036 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 4.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,532,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $342,312,000 after purchasing an additional 67,290 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 25.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 951,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,727,000 after purchasing an additional 192,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 117.0% in the third quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 911,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $158,804,000 after purchasing an additional 491,358 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX stock opened at $152.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $173.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.37. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.76 and a 52 week high of $232.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.92.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). MarketAxess had a net margin of 29.14% and a return on equity of 20.88%. The business had revenue of $209.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.73 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Argus downgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $182.00 to $178.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $201.11.

MarketAxess Profile

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company's network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.

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