Insider Selling: MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Chairman Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.67, for a total transaction of $2,676,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 562,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,438,302.43. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MKTX traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $263.97. 26,501 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 405,128. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.05. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $192.42 and a fifty-two week high of $297.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.13.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 34.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.11%.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $332,000. Azora Capital LP grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 53,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,617,000 after acquiring an additional 12,935 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,503,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,099,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $614,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MKTX shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.50.

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.