Tobam Has $17.63 Million Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Tobam grew its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,361 shares during the period. MarketAxess makes up approximately 1.5% of Tobam's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Tobam owned about 0.16% of MarketAxess worth $17,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 72 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 39.6% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total value of $442,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $260.22.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $226.50. 407,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 433,986. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.73. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.98. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $200.01 and a 52 week high of $344.43.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.11. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 34.29%. The firm had revenue of $197.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This is a positive change from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. MarketAxess's payout ratio is 43.21%.

MarketAxess 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.