54,186 Shares in Match Group Inc. $MTCH Purchased by Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd.

Key Points

• Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in Match Group, purchasing 54,186 shares valued at approximately $1.69 million in the first quarter.
• Match Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share that will be paid on October 17th, marking a 2.0% dividend yield.
• Several analysts adjusted their price targets for Match Group, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average price target of $35.44.

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 54,186 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,691,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTCH. Starboard Value LP boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $479,429,000 after buying an additional 5,100,824 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 17.4% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,321,485 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $384,808,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822,362 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Match Group by 64.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,565,726 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $298,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738,509 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Match Group by 10.0% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,573,084 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $173,880,000 after purchasing an additional 506,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group in the first quarter valued at $142,281,000. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Match Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MTCH shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on Match Group from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Match Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Match Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.44.

Match Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $37.42. 1,973,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,689,047. Match Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.39 and a 12 month high of $39.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.94. The company has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.36.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Match Group's payout ratio is presently 37.44%.

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.