Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $15.69 Million Stake in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,063 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.14% of MarketAxess worth $15,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in MarketAxess by 51.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in MarketAxess by 25.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in MarketAxess by 126.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after buying an additional 5,026 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in MarketAxess by 47.7% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 6,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in MarketAxess by 11.3% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 9,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,991,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.01% of the company’s stock.

MarketAxess Stock Performance

Shares of MKTX traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $201.79. The stock had a trading volume of 253,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,860. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.98. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.34 and a 12 month high of $322.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $215.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.86.

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $197.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $196.70 million. MarketAxess had a return on equity of 21.76% and a net margin of 34.29%. MarketAxess’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MarketAxess Holdings Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Kevin M. Mcpherson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.26, for a total transaction of $442,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 70,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,508,555.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKTX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on MarketAxess from $263.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Bank of America started coverage on MarketAxess in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on MarketAxess from $229.00 to $210.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays cut their target price on MarketAxess from $239.00 to $236.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of MarketAxess in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.80.

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.