Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Boosts MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $223.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its price target increased by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $218.00 to $223.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MKTX. StockNews.com upgraded MarketAxess from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $238.60.

MarketAxess Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $234.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 1.03. MarketAxess has a 12 month low of $192.42 and a 12 month high of $297.97. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.36.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $197.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.07 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 20.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MarketAxess will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.47%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total value of $99,740.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 500 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.48, for a total transaction of $99,740.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,895.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christophe Pierre Danie Roupie sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.63, for a total transaction of $142,915.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,146.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MarketAxess

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in MarketAxess by 28,547.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 13,132 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the fourth quarter worth about $674,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth approximately $525,000. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in MarketAxess by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 18,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.