XTX Topco Ltd Lowers Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

XTX Topco Ltd cut its stake in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 80.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,654 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in MarketAxess by 992.9% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in MarketAxess during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in MarketAxess by 51.2% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in MarketAxess by 160.5% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $167.24 on Friday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.17 and a fifty-two week high of $246.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.62 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $167.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.60.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $208.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.59 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total value of $298,544.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total value of $276,868.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 67,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,542,642.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $217.00 to $208.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Loop Capital set a $164.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Argus raised shares of MarketAxess from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $212.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $205.91.

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.