MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $188.67 and last traded at $188.62, with a volume of 45209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $191.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.78.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $245.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.02.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 33.56%. As a group, research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is 40.72%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total value of $72,171.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,212.14. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in MarketAxess by 8.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in MarketAxess by 2.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 3,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.