Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Makes New $689,000 Investment in Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 22,432 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Match Group by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 625,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,202,000 after acquiring an additional 115,852 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Match Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,299,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Match Group by 97.2% during the first quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,549,147 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,574,000 after purchasing an additional 763,764 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Match Group by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 180,949 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after purchasing an additional 64,414 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 816,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,374,000 after purchasing an additional 148,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

MTCH opened at $40.29 on Friday. Match Group Inc. has a one year low of $28.81 and a one year high of $41.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.67.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $863.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $854.70 million. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 307.45% and a net margin of 18.83%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Match Group Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, Director Melissa Anne Brenner sold 5,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total transaction of $184,767.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $582,874.92. This trade represents a 24.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Match Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Match Group from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler set a $51.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.29.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc (NASDAQ: MTCH) is a leading provider of online dating products and services. The company owns and operates a diverse portfolio of consumer brands that connect singles through digital platforms. Its flagship offerings include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and PlentyOfFish, which together serve users looking for long-term relationships, casual encounters and social networking opportunities.

Originating with the launch of Match.com in 1995, Match Group has grown through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions.