MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 78,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,592 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.21% of MarketAxess worth $20,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 95.3% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,102 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 5,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 15.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $317,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, CEO Christopher R. Concannon acquired 4,270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $238.42 per share, with a total value of $1,018,053.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,245,317.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MKTX opened at $222.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.11. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $200.01 and a fifty-two week high of $399.78.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46. The firm had revenue of $172.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.32 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.86% and a net margin of 33.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 7th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $246.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $254.00 to $242.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Friday, October 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $308.00 to $284.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.27.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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.