CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 117 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 179.5% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in MarketAxess by 230.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $193.96 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.80. The stock has a market cap of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.02. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.84 and a 1 year high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is 41.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.78.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In related news, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total value 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 $1,997,212.14. This represents a 3.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.66% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess 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.