Analysts Set MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target at $241.78

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $241.78.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKTX. William Blair began coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $213.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on MarketAxess from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.85. 317,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,917. MarketAxess has a 52 week low of $186.84 and a 52 week high of $296.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.81. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.89.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $211.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 495.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 13,900.0% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

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.