Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 3,429,397 Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,429,397 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,176,000. Norges Bank owned 1.37% of Match Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Match Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $668,732,000 after purchasing an additional 391,977 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Match Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,818,000 after acquiring an additional 939,078 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Match Group by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,668,000 after acquiring an additional 524,144 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Match Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,667,907 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,267,000 after purchasing an additional 69,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Match Group by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,486,837 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,344,000 after purchasing an additional 683,132 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Stock Performance

Match Group stock opened at $31.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.72. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MTCH. New Street Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Match Group has a consensus 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.