Easterly Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 32.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,250 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 16,269 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Match Group were worth $1,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MTCH. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Match Group by 3.0% in the 4th 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 period. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Match Group by 2.2% during 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 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 acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Match Group by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,172 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Match Group by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MTCH shares. New Street Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $31.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.83.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.