MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,298 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in MarketAxess were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 39.5% during the 3rd 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. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 3,507 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company's stock.

MarketAxess Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MKTX traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $189.81. The company had a trading volume of 507,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 543,484. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $188.57 and a 1-year high of $296.68. The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.32.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. 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 return on equity of 20.23% and a net margin of 33.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from MarketAxess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. MarketAxess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MKTX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,997,212.14. This trade represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.66% of the company's stock.

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.