MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $198.07, but opened at $209.01. MarketAxess shares last traded at $200.52, with a volume of 49,273 shares.

The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MKTX shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total value of $72,171.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,212.14. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 20,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 592,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $160,883,880.75. This represents a 3.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,183,871 over the last 90 days. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the third quarter worth $261,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in MarketAxess by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 7,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 128.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 39.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 555.6% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $226.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.02.

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.