Blue Grotto Capital LLC Sells 26,537 Shares of LendingTree, Inc. $TREE

Blue Grotto Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 356,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,537 shares during the quarter. LendingTree makes up approximately 2.7% of Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s holdings in LendingTree were worth $23,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 25.2% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in LendingTree by 1.3% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in LendingTree by 272.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in LendingTree by 10.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 4,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in LendingTree by 0.6% in the third quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 91,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,898,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of TREE stock opened at $39.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $551.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 2.21. LendingTree, Inc. has a one year low of $32.65 and a one year high of $77.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $49.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The financial services provider reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($1.29). LendingTree had a return on equity of 12.44% and a net margin of 13.55%.The firm had revenue of $310.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $286.56 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TREE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of LendingTree from $83.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut LendingTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on LendingTree from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of LendingTree in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LendingTree currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

About LendingTree

LendingTree, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects consumers with a network of lenders and financial service providers. Through its platform, borrowers can compare loan offers for mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, student loans, auto loans and small business financing. The company also offers tools for comparing credit cards and deposit accounts, allowing users to research rates and terms from a range of providers in one place.

Founded in 1996 by Doug Lebda, LendingTree pioneered the comparison-shopping model for consumer credit products.