UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Price

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $330.00 to $335.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on MKTX. Barclays increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $263.40.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX opened at $274.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.05. MarketAxess has a 52-week low of $192.42 and a 52-week high of $297.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $270.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.69.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $206.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 34.32%. The business’s revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.11%.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the third quarter worth $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the second quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 405.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 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.