Applied Fundamental Research LLC Has $4.43 Million Position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Applied Fundamental Research LLC decreased its position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,273 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,715 shares during the period. Match Group comprises 3.5% of Applied Fundamental Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Applied Fundamental Research LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Match Group worth $4,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 617.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at about $747,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Match Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 182,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,907,000 after buying an additional 9,462 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Match Group by 5.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 36,237 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Match Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 25,952 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $30.94 on Monday. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.02 and its 200-day moving average is $34.13. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Match Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Match Group Company Profile

Match Group, Inc engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide.