Easterly Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,250 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 16,269 shares during the quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Match Group were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Match Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,898 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Match Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,245 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 1,914 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Match Group by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company's stock worth $209,668,000 after acquiring an additional 524,144 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 618.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 402,148 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $15,217,000 after acquiring an additional 346,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Match Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 644,802 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $24,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. New Street Research lowered shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sixteen equities 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Match Group Price Performance

Match Group stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.45. 1,390,733 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,982,646. Match Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $38.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS 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 EPS for the current year.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

About Match Group

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.