Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Invests $708,000 in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,650 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of Match Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 10,647 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,006 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 25,952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Match Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,955 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Match Group by 54.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Trading Up 2.4 %

MTCH opened at $34.06 on Monday. Match Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $39.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. New Street Research cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.72.

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.