Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $4.95 Million Investment in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 151,365 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,951,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Match Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Match Group by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,827,217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $190,608,000 after buying an additional 1,174,889 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Match Group by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company's stock worth $183,968,000 after buying an additional 2,952,470 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Match Group by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 5,467,257 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,834,000 after buying an additional 541,556 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Match Group by 716.8% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,254,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $171,889,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611,598 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Match Group stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,799,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,929,493. The company has a market cap of $7.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.57. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Match Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company's 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. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Match Group 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.