MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) Price Target Raised to $335.00 at UBS Group

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $330.00 to $335.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MKTX has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of MarketAxess from $237.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $218.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. 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 research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $263.40.

MarketAxess Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKTX traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $275.90. The company had a trading volume of 180,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,866. MarketAxess has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.80.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.08. MarketAxess had a net margin of 33.71% and a return on equity of 20.43%. The company had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MarketAxess will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

MarketAxess declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 2.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.65%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketAxess

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MarketAxess during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the second quarter worth $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 2,428.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of MarketAxess by 405.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess in the third quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

About MarketAxess

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.