Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 62,736 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,870 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,736 shares during the quarter. MarketAxess comprises approximately 0.5% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.72% of MarketAxess worth $79,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% during 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 period. Gladius Capital Management LP boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in MarketAxess by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In related news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:MKTX traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $206.11. 447,819 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 391,164. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50 day moving average is $212.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.45. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $198.01 and a twelve month high of $303.85.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $210.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.99 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 33.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MKTX shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on MarketAxess in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $236.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $249.73.

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.