Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Cuts Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its holdings in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,231 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 9,509 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Match Group were worth $7,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Match Group by 617.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Match Group by 1,003.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,582 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at $391,900.78. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of Match Group stock opened at $35.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.64. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. Equities research analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

Match Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MTCH. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. New Street Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.68.

Match Group 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.