Cumberland Partners Ltd Takes $512,000 Position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Cumberland Partners Ltd bought a new stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MKTX. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of MarketAxess in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in MarketAxess by 405.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in MarketAxess by 47.4% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in MarketAxess in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of MarketAxess by 555.6% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTX opened at $271.63 on Wednesday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $192.42 and a twelve month high of $297.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $271.74 and a 200-day moving average of $234.69. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 1.05.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $206.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.17 million. MarketAxess had a net margin of 34.32% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. 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 $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.11%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKTX has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on MarketAxess from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America dropped their price target on MarketAxess from $193.00 to $185.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MarketAxess from $262.00 to $314.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of MarketAxess in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on MarketAxess from $330.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $267.50.

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.