MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Rating) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.02, MarketWatch Earnings reports. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 25.12% and a net margin of 36.90%. The business had revenue of $186.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.34 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis.

MarketAxess stock traded up $2.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $276.05. 1,081 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 348,379. The business has a fifty day moving average of $339.71 and a 200 day moving average of $369.23. The firm has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34 and a beta of 0.41. MarketAxess has a 12-month low of $256.26 and a 12-month high of $533.36.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.36%.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Trading LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter worth about $310,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.19% of the company’s stock.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $412.00 to $372.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 6th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $383.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Compass Point upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James downgraded MarketAxess from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 6th. Finally, Atlantic Securities assumed coverage on MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, February 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $374.89.

MarketAxess Company Profile (Get Rating)

MarketAxess Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer companies worldwide. It offers the access to liquidity in the U.S. investment-grade bonds, U.S. high-yield bonds, and U.S. Treasuries, as well as municipal bonds, emerging market debts, Eurobonds, and other fixed income securities.

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