Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,315 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,483 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Match Group were worth $540,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 652.5% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 11,415 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 9,898 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 56,945 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 2,230 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 382.7% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,186 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 6,490 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,321,485 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $384,808,000 after buying an additional 1,822,362 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $459,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $295,889.76. The trade was a 60.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 5,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.58, for a total value of $203,796.34. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $823,979.08. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH opened at $36.98 on Wednesday. Match Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.39 and a twelve month high of $39.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.90.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is 37.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MTCH shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Match Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Match Group from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Match Group from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.44.

Match Group 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.