Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) President Sells $7,958,987.74 in Stock

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Match Group Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of MTCH opened at $32.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.36. Match Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MTCH. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. HSBC cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Match Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $668,732,000 after purchasing an additional 391,977 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP grew its holdings in Match Group by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $479,429,000 after buying an additional 5,100,824 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Match Group by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,499,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $343,427,000 after buying an additional 2,042,677 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 939,078 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Match Group by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,827,217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $190,608,000 after buying an additional 1,174,889 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.