Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Rating) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 739 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $14,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 41,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,534,000 after purchasing an additional 12,117 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $224,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 296.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 16,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $434,000. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ MKTX opened at $276.15 on Thursday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.44 and a 12 month high of $399.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $333.77 and a 200-day moving average of $320.36. The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02 and a beta of 0.79.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.06. MarketAxess had a net margin of 35.23% and a return on equity of 24.55%. The company had revenue of $203.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.56 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 9th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.58, for a total transaction of $221,414.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,156,223.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $366.58, for a total transaction of $221,414.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,156,223.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $358.80, for a total value of $89,700.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 7,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,567,572.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MKTX shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $302.00 to $308.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $297.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Finally, 888 reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.10.

About MarketAxess

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MarketAxess Holdings, Inc engages in an electronic trading platform that allows investment industry professionals to trade corporate bonds and other types of fixed-income instruments. It operates through the Americas, Europe, and Asia geographical segments. The company was founded by Richard Mitchell Mcvey on April 11, 2000, and is headquartered in New York, NY.