NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $34.07 Million Holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,048 shares during the period. MarketAxess makes up 1.0% of NFJ Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned approximately 0.35% of MarketAxess worth $34,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MKTX. Investment Management Corp of Ontario bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth about $308,000. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the third quarter worth $332,000. Azora Capital LP increased its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 32.2% in the third quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 53,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,617,000 after buying an additional 12,935 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in MarketAxess in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,503,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,099,000. Institutional investors own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Price Performance

MKTX stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $262.83. 35,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,898. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $273.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.32. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $192.42 and a one year high of $297.97.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. MarketAxess’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.13%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio is 40.11%.

Insider Activity at MarketAxess

In other MarketAxess news, Chairman Richard M. Mcvey sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.75, for a total value of $5,435,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 592,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $160,883,880.75. The trade was a 3.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MKTX shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.50.

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.