Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Sells 188,800 Shares of Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Match Group Inc. by 74.9% in the first quarter, leaving them with 63,400 shares valued at approximately $1.98 million.
• Match Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, amounting to an annualized yield of 2.0%.
• Various hedge funds have altered their positions in Match Group, with the majority of the stock now owned by institutional investors at a rate of 94.05%.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 74.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,400 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 188,800 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Match Group were worth $1,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTCH. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Match Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Match Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Match Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Match Group by 130.1% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,536 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new stake in Match Group in the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Match Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Match Group stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.21. The company had a trading volume of 3,680,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,311,224. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.99. Match Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.39 and a 1-year high of $39.20. The company has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.36.

Match Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $459,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,058 shares in the company, valued at $295,889.76. The trade was a 60.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Philip D. Eigenmann sold 6,531 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.52, for a total transaction of $245,043.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 23,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $871,964.80. This trade represents a 21.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,454 shares of company stock valued at $907,839 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Match Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.