MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Given Neutral Rating at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their neutral rating on shares of MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $265.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

MKTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $204.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $263.40.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MarketAxess stock opened at $274.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.05. MarketAxess has a 1 year low of $192.42 and a 1 year high of $297.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $270.50 and its 200 day moving average is $233.69.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business’s revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MarketAxess will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 1.08%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.11%.

MarketAxess declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 6th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 2.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKTX. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MarketAxess during the first quarter valued at $7,866,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 174.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 4,284 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in MarketAxess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $752,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in MarketAxess during the 1st quarter worth approximately $882,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MarketAxess by 48.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.