iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in MarketAxess by 4.0% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in MarketAxess by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of MarketAxess by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKTX. UBS Group cut their price target on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $254.78.

MarketAxess Price Performance

NASDAQ MKTX traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 385,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,693. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.05. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.84 and a 52-week high of $296.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $207.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.79.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. On average, equities analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.82%.

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.