MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Cut to $225.00 by Analysts at Barclays

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price objective decreased by Barclays from $236.00 to $225.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MKTX. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America began coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an underperform rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $249.73.

MarketAxess Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX traded up $2.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $204.82. 306,717 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 422,260. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $213.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.73. MarketAxess has a 52 week low of $198.01 and a 52 week high of $303.85. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.98.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 34.29% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares in the company, valued at $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in MarketAxess by 316.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 11,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,367,000 after acquiring an additional 8,771 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 96,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,253,000 after buying an additional 21,041 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,715,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in MarketAxess by 28,547.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,859,000 after buying an additional 13,132 shares during the period. Finally, TCG Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,289,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.