Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Shares Sold by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lowered its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,305 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 11,103 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI's holdings in Match Group were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Match Group by 617.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Match Group in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Match Group in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Match Group by 126.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,958 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Match Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTCH has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Match Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Match Group Price Performance

NASDAQ MTCH traded down $0.67 on Tuesday, reaching $31.36. The company had a trading volume of 4,387,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,068,537. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $38.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.14 and a 200-day moving average of $34.27.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.