Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 3,963 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 40.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $2,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 405.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 47.4% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX opened at $258.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $233.44 and a 200 day moving average of $217.22. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.71% and a return on equity of 20.43%. The business had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.47%.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In related news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MKTX shares. StockNews.com upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.60.

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.