ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MKTX shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $220.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of MarketAxess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on MarketAxess from $189.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.11.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of MKTX stock opened at $221.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $204.99 and its 200 day moving average is $235.29. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.84 and a 1-year high of $296.68. The company has a market cap of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.12.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 20.23%. On average, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.82%.

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.