Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 151,365 Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 151,365 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,951,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MTCH. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Match Group during the third quarter worth $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Match Group during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 14.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 420.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Match Group by 126.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,958 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Match Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

Match Group stock opened at $31.27 on Wednesday. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.86.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.