LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) by 75.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,017 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in LendingTree were worth $182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 253,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,595 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of LendingTree by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,393,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in LendingTree by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 88,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,119,000 after buying an additional 2,602 shares during the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC purchased a new position in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,651,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in LendingTree by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 1,728 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LendingTree Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TREE opened at $40.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $538.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.91 and a beta of 2.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.78. LendingTree, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.58 and a 1-year high of $62.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TREE. Northland Capmk raised LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.71.

Insider Transactions at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, CEO Douglas R. Lebda acquired 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.72 per share, with a total value of $516,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,829,912.28. The trade was a 11.97 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Scott V. Totman bought 3,750 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $38.59 per share, with a total value of $144,712.50. Following the acquisition, the chief technology officer now owns 18,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,029.28. This trade represents a 25.97 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 23.40% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Profile

LendingTree, Inc, through its subsidiary, operates online consumer platform in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home, Consumer, and Insurance. The Home segment offers purchase mortgage, refinance mortgage, and home equity loans and lines of credit; and real estate brokerage services.