MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Holdings Decreased by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in MarketAxess were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 347.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 1,030.8% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 155.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 2,428.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $241.00.

MarketAxess Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $222.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 76,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,236. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.14. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $192.42 and a one year high of $297.97. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.03.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 20.82%. The business had revenue of $210.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.47%.

Insider Activity

In other MarketAxess news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.