The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target to $210.00

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $235.00 to $210.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MKTX. UBS Group decreased their price target on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on MarketAxess from $258.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MarketAxess presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.78.

MarketAxess Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of MKTX opened at $192.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50 day moving average is $222.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.46. MarketAxess has a 52-week low of $188.88 and a 52-week high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. On average, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.82%.

Insider Transactions at MarketAxess

In related news, General Counsel Scott Pintoff sold 300 shares of MarketAxess stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.57, for a total transaction of $72,171.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 8,302 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,212.14. The trade was a 3.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 179.5% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of MarketAxess during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 495.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 13,900.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Company 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.