MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stake Lowered by GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lessened its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,861,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,122 shares during the quarter. MarketAxess comprises 7.0% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned approximately 4.91% of MarketAxess worth $545,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 146.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,265,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,422,000 after buying an additional 752,111 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in MarketAxess by 385.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 545,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $116,554,000 after purchasing an additional 433,217 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 156.4% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 210,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,893,000 after purchasing an additional 128,193 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 539,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,169,000 after purchasing an additional 113,642 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 170,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,380,000 after purchasing an additional 83,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.66% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $204.42. The stock had a trading volume of 373,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,541. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.98. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $198.01 and a 12-month high of $301.22. The firm's 50-day moving average is $212.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $234.39.

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

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MKTX. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America began coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $249.73.

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.

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