UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 31,127 Shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,127 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.67% of MarketAxess worth $64,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.9% in the second quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 0.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 15,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,953,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 0.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,479,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in MarketAxess by 4.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ MKTX traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $262.79. The company had a trading volume of 326,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,211. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $192.42 and a 1-year high of $297.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $273.61 and a 200 day moving average of $240.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.00.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 34.32%. The company had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $207.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. MarketAxess's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. MarketAxess's payout ratio is currently 40.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total value of $5,435,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $330.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $270.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $267.50.

About MarketAxess

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.