Jackson Square Partners LLC Decreases Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. $MKTX

Jackson Square Partners LLC lowered its holdings in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 83.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81,441 shares during the quarter. MarketAxess accounts for about 1.3% of Jackson Square Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Jackson Square Partners LLC’s holdings in MarketAxess were worth $3,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MarketAxess by 329.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 618,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,904,000 after purchasing an additional 474,776 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in MarketAxess by 999.6% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 222,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,104,000 after buying an additional 202,121 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in MarketAxess by 64.8% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 402,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,083,000 after buying an additional 158,240 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MarketAxess during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,786,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MarketAxess by 89.0% during the 1st quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 229,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,709,000 after acquiring an additional 108,219 shares in the last quarter. 99.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKTX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on MarketAxess from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MarketAxess from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of MarketAxess from $274.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler set a $180.00 price target on MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $164.00 target price on MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MarketAxess presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.58.

MarketAxess Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MKTX opened at $167.27 on Friday. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.17 and a 52 week high of $277.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.16, a PEG ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.16 and a 200-day moving average of $199.18.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $208.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.59 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 26.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MarketAxess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 19th. MarketAxess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.18%.

Insider Activity

In other MarketAxess news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 1,494 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.32, for a total value of $276,868.08. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,542,642.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen P. Casper sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.59, for a total transaction of $298,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,062,180.72. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.65% 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.