Royal Bank of Canada Has $15.96 Million Stock Position in Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Match Group Inc. by 46.7%, selling 448,810 shares in the first quarter and holding 511,513 shares post-sale, valued at approximately $15.96 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Mercer Global Advisors and Captrust Financial Advisors, significantly increased their holdings in Match Group during the fourth quarter.
• Match Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, set to be paid on October 17th, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 46.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 511,513 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 448,810 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.20% of Match Group worth $15,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MTCH. Starboard Value LP increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $479,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100,824 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $142,281,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 64.2% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 17.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 126.1% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,679,575 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $52,403,000 after acquiring an additional 936,753 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of the 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 owned 8,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $295,889.76. This represents a 60.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Philip D. Eigenmann sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.52, for a total value of $245,043.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 23,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $871,964.80. The trade was a 21.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,454 shares of company stock valued at $907,839 in the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:MTCH traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.75. 3,824,571 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,228,582. Match Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.39 and a twelve month high of $39.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.60 and a 200 day moving average of $32.14. The stock has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 37.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MTCH. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Match Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Match Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.44.

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.