MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX Shares Sold by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,912 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $57,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 992.9% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $177.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 2.60. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.17 and a fifty-two week high of $232.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.57. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 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 the consensus estimate of $214.06 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 29.14% and a return on equity of 20.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.73 EPS. Analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is 45.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research raised MarketAxess from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on MarketAxess from $194.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.40.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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.