Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 7,648 Shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in shares of Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000,773 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 7,648 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.80% of Matador Resources worth $56,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Matador Resources by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,555,553 shares of the energy company's stock worth $706,375,000 after buying an additional 187,633 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Matador Resources by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,698,606 shares of the energy company's stock worth $151,824,000 after acquiring an additional 555,245 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Matador Resources by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,008,730 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $99,297,000 after purchasing an additional 36,921 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Matador Resources by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,491,570 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $83,916,000 after purchasing an additional 56,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Matador Resources by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,286,444 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $72,375,000 after purchasing an additional 302,221 shares in the last quarter. 91.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Matador Resources from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Matador Resources from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Matador Resources in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Matador Resources from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Matador Resources from $77.00 to $67.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.79.

Insider Activity

In other Matador Resources news, CAO Robert T. Macalik purchased 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $47.98 per share, with a total value of $57,576.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief accounting officer now owns 31,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,487,380. The trade was a 4.03 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Christopher P. Calvert acquired 1,300 shares of Matador Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $55.17 per share, for a total transaction of $71,721.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 34,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,875,780. The trade was a 3.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 21,350 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,769. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Matador Resources Price Performance

NYSE:MTDR traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.00. The stock had a trading volume of 467,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,110. Matador Resources has a 12 month low of $35.61 and a 12 month high of $71.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 2.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.70.

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The energy company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.05). Matador Resources had a net margin of 25.26% and a return on equity of 18.52%. The business had revenue of $970.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.10 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Matador Resources will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Matador Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.3125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Matador Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Matador Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.51%.

Matador Resources Profile

Matador Resources Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production; and Midstream. The company primarily holds interests in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas.