Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 26,716 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 79.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,716 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 485.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 758,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,195,000 after purchasing an additional 628,954 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,593,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 119.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 487,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,811,000 after purchasing an additional 264,855 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 181.2% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 250,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,843,000 after purchasing an additional 161,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 1,789.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 145,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,396,000 after purchasing an additional 138,029 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $186.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.93. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.17 and a 52 week high of $232.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.34 and a 200 day moving average of $175.08.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $209.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.06 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.88% and a net margin of 29.14%.MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus cut their price target on MarketAxess from $212.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen raised MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.40.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess Holdings Inc operates a leading global electronic trading platform specializing in fixed-income securities and related products. The company’s network enables institutional investors and broker-dealers to trade corporate bonds, municipal securities, emerging markets debt, U.S. Treasuries and credit default swaps in an automated, multi-dealer environment. MarketAxess also offers portfolio trading, data analytics, best-execution tools and post-trade services to streamline workflows and enhance price discovery across its marketplace.

In addition to core voice-like trading protocols, MarketAxess provides Open Trading®, an anonymous, all-to-all trading protocol designed to improve liquidity and transaction efficiency.