MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Raised to $335.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $330.00 to $335.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $263.40.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.1 %

MarketAxess stock opened at $274.68 on Thursday. MarketAxess has a 1 year low of $192.42 and a 1 year high of $297.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $270.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.05.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly 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. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,338,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,032,000 after buying an additional 8,042 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 3.8% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in MarketAxess during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,966,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in MarketAxess by 901.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 16,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,103,000 after acquiring an additional 14,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

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.