Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Reduces Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 802 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of MarketAxess worth $26,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 72 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MarketAxess news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total value of $442,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MKTX shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $250.00 to $237.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.80.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MarketAxess stock opened at $204.01 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $216.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.98. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $199.34 and a one year high of $336.56.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $197.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.70 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 34.29%. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Company Profile

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.