T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,298,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 236,118 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 6.10% of MarketAxess worth $519,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at $119,095,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,300,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $520,013,000 after purchasing an additional 341,493 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,103,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,000,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $452,246,000 after purchasing an additional 236,497 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,079,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ MKTX traded down $0.90 during trading on Monday, hitting $218.11. 74,316 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 670,719. The company has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.12. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.84 and a 12-month high of $296.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.99.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. As a group, research analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MKTX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded MarketAxess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $220.00 to $213.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $252.11.

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.