Ownership Capital B.V. Sells 152,390 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Ownership Capital B.V. cut its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 35.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 152,390 shares during the period. MarketAxess comprises approximately 2.3% of Ownership Capital B.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Ownership Capital B.V. owned approximately 0.73% of MarketAxess worth $71,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its position in MarketAxess by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 2,425,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $531,878,000 after purchasing an additional 564,820 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 2,889.6% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 339,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,032,000 after buying an additional 327,913 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 820,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,447,000 after buying an additional 285,665 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 120.6% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 393,073 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,823,000 after buying an additional 214,928 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 1,330,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,881,000 after buying an additional 204,960 shares during the period. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $274.68. The stock had a trading volume of 386,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,758. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $192.42 and a 12 month high of $297.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 3.56. The company's 50-day moving average is $270.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.48.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $206.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 34.32%. MarketAxess's revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

MarketAxess announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $263.40.

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.