Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 20,713 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 133.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,183 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,713 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Match Group were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group during the third quarter worth $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Match Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,768,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Match Group by 468.6% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,481,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Match Group by 3,325.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,122,906 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,127 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

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

Match Group Stock Performance

MTCH stock opened at $31.20 on Tuesday. Match Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $38.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.74.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

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

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.