GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Has $398.56 Million Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,763,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 238,615 shares during the period. MarketAxess accounts for about 6.4% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned 4.68% of MarketAxess worth $398,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKTX. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in MarketAxess by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $216.87 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $207.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.44. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.05. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.84 and a 12-month high of $296.68.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 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, sell-side analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MKTX. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on MarketAxess from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MarketAxess has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

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.