Capital Fund Management S.A. Increases Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 214.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,397 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. owned approximately 0.14% of MarketAxess worth $11,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in MarketAxess by 992.9% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 160.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total value of $276,868.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 67,681 shares in the company, valued at $12,542,642.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. The trade was a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MarketAxess Price Performance

MKTX opened at $163.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $169.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.25. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.17 and a 1 year high of $265.74.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $208.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.59 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.62% and a return on equity of 20.41%. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MKTX. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of MarketAxess from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Barclays increased their target price on MarketAxess from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 price target on MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.91.

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.