Marshall Wace LLP Sells 3,332 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 481,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,332 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 1.28% of MarketAxess worth $108,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,088,000. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 8,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 363,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $82,103,000 after acquiring an additional 5,153 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $539,000. Finally, Taika Capital LP purchased a new position in MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,689,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MarketAxess Price Performance

MKTX traded up $1.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $223.60. 91,246 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,302. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.84 and a fifty-two week high of $296.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $208.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.56. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.12.

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

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is an increase from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on MarketAxess from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised MarketAxess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $252.11.

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.