MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Raised to $233.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $204.00 to $233.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MKTX. StockNews.com raised MarketAxess from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $238.00.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX opened at $273.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 1.08. MarketAxess has a 1 year low of $192.42 and a 1 year high of $297.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $242.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.71% and a return on equity of 20.43%. The company had revenue of $197.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MarketAxess will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is 43.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,409 shares in the company, valued at $1,716,146.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter valued at $7,866,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 174.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 4,284 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 9,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,888,000 after buying an additional 4,502 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 176,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,584,000 after buying an additional 5,859 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,526,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,563,000 after acquiring an additional 34,197 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.