Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Grows Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 2,176.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,504 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $4,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth about $743,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 421.3% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 22,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MarketAxess by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth about $2,214,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in MarketAxess in the fourth quarter worth about $631,000. 99.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.0 %

MarketAxess stock opened at $217.36 on Wednesday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.84 and a 12 month high of $296.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.95.

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

MarketAxess Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from MarketAxess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $256.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $251.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $235.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of MarketAxess from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.78.

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.