MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MKTX. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $213.00 to $202.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $240.00 to $237.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on MarketAxess from $223.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.44.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of MarketAxess stock traded down $2.92 on Friday, hitting $216.05. The stock had a trading volume of 284,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,417. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $186.84 and a twelve month high of $296.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $220.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.85.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $208.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. MarketAxess's payout ratio is 52.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 185.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in MarketAxess by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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.