MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $217.31, but opened at $207.00. MarketAxess shares last traded at $205.44, with a volume of 227,020 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $257.33.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $226.61 and a 200 day moving average of $246.84. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, 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 results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.72%.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total transaction of $5,435,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 592,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,883,880.75. This trade represents a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total transaction of $72,171.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 8,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,212.14. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,300 shares of company stock worth $8,183,871 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter worth about $1,088,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,966,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MarketAxess by 22.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 55,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,265,000 after buying an additional 10,361 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $982,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 461.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 57,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,041,000 after acquiring an additional 47,568 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is 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.