Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 103,555 Shares of Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Match Group stake by 20.5%, selling 103,555 shares and retaining 401,085 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.05% of the company.
• Match Group reported quarterly EPS of $0.70, exceeding estimates of $0.65, while revenue of $853.1 million declined 1.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, representing a 1.9% yield.
• Shares opened at $42.39, near the 12-month high of $43.47. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $42.46 price target, while recent insider activity included both director buying and selling.

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 401,085 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 103,555 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Match Group worth $15,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group during the second quarter worth $2,459,000. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of Match Group by 25.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 136,480 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,193,000 after buying an additional 27,750 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Match Group by 83.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 68,859 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,620,000 after buying an additional 31,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Match Group in the second quarter valued at $1,910,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Match Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of MTCH opened at $42.39 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $39.60 and its 200 day moving average is $36.02. Match Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.81 and a 12-month high of $43.47. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.32.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $853.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.77 million. Match Group had a net margin of 20.17% and a negative return on equity of 324.82%. Match Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Match Group Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTCH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Match Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Match Group from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Match Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total value of $201,157.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,742 shares in the company, valued at $496,216.92. This trade represents a 28.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $36.63 per share, for a total transaction of $109,890.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 56,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,064,833.10. The trade was a 5.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,291 shares of company stock worth $976,478 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Match Group Profile

Match Group, Inc is a provider of online dating and social discovery services. The company operates a portfolio of dating platforms designed to help people form connections, including Tinder, Hinge, Match, Plenty of Fish, OkCupid, Meetic, OurTime, BLK and Chispa. Its services are offered through websites and mobile applications, with features that may include profile discovery, messaging, matching, subscriptions and other paid enhancements.

Match Group serves users in markets around the world, with brands tailored to different audiences, relationship goals, age groups and geographic regions.

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