Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Position Reduced by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC lessened its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,917 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,408 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Match Group were worth $1,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Match Group by 17.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Match Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,667,907 shares of the technology company's stock worth $87,267,000 after acquiring an additional 69,947 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Match Group by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,486,837 shares of the technology company's stock worth $81,344,000 after acquiring an additional 683,132 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Match Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company's stock worth $78,733,000 after acquiring an additional 866,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its holdings in Match Group by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,158,785 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $70,614,000 after acquiring an additional 650,593 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the transaction, the president now owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 downgraded Match Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Match Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Match Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.25.

Match Group Price Performance

NASDAQ MTCH traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,802,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,942,706. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. Match Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.39 and a 52-week high of $38.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.80.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.