UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Stock Price

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $330.00 to $305.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MKTX. Barclays reduced their target price on MarketAxess from $260.00 to $256.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $255.00 to $251.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued 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 price target of $254.78.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

MKTX traded down $0.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $195.27. 396,416 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 512,744. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $225.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.05. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $191.91 and a twelve month high of $296.68. The stock has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.02.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. MarketAxess's payout ratio is 40.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $267.67, for a total transaction of $2,676,700.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 562,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $150,438,302.43. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total value of $72,171.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,212.14. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MarketAxess

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 495.2% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 13,900.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.