Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 960,323 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 391,497 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.38% of Match Group worth $31,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MTCH. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Match Group in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,510 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 28,884 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,385 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,071 shares of the technology company's stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 2,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 3,325.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,122,906 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,730,000 after buying an additional 1,090,127 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Spencer M. Rascoff bought 70,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.05 per share, for a total transaction of $1,988,324.25. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 137,478 shares in the company, valued at $3,856,257.90. This represents a 106.45% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTCH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Match Group from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Match Group from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Match Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.91.

Match Group Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH traded up $1.11 on Tuesday, hitting $30.32. 3,565,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,913,955. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.42.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Match Group's payout ratio is 37.62%.

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.