Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 25,135 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 39.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,135 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.10% of MarketAxess worth $9,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MarketAxess by 405.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 47.4% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $261.71 on Friday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $192.42 and a one year high of $297.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $273.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a PEG ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.05.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business’s revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. MarketAxess’s payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MarketAxess

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.67, for a total value of $2,676,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 562,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,438,302.43. This 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. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MKTX shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.50.

MarketAxess 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.