Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 12,137 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 198.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,252 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,137 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Match Group were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 94.3% during 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company's stock worth $211,818,000 after acquiring an additional 939,078 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Match Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $78,733,000 after purchasing an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 478,913 shares of the technology company's stock worth $15,665,000 after purchasing an additional 8,414 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Match Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,667,907 shares of the technology company's stock worth $87,267,000 after purchasing an additional 69,947 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Match Group Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ MTCH traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,805,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,944,951. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.42. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.39.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. Research analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MTCH shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Match Group from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Match Group from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Match Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.44.

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.