Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $704,000 in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 21,523 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,956 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 17.2% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Match Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This trade represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $30.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.92 and a 200-day moving average of $33.94.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced 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%. Analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. New Street Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

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.