MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group cut its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 25.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,899 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $18,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKTX. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 992.9% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 51.2% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 160.5% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MKTX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $194.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays upped their price target on MarketAxess from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 price objective on MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research upgraded MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.91.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $160.76 on Wednesday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.17 and a fifty-two week high of $265.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $168.66 and a 200 day moving average of $192.36.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $208.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.59 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.70%.

Insider Activity

In other MarketAxess news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total transaction of $276,868.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,542,642.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total transaction of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.