SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $116,000 in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,560 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTCH. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Match Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Match Group by 3,325.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,122,906 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,127 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Match Group by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Match Group by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,733,000 after purchasing an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MTCH shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BTIG Research downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Match Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Up 4.1 %

MTCH opened at $32.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.38.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

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.