Fifth Third Bancorp Trims Stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its holdings in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,736 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,904 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Match Group were worth $188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Match Group by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Match Group by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 28,884 shares during the period. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. grew its stake in shares of Match Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 478,913 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,665,000 after acquiring an additional 8,414 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Match Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Match Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MTCH. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Match Group from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. New Street Research cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.72.

Match Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MTCH opened at $35.70 on Friday. Match Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $39.91. The company has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.71 and a 200 day moving average of $34.63.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.93%.

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

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction of $25,319.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,900.78. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Company 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.