Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,102 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Match Group were worth $2,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Match Group by 617.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Match Group by 1,003.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,582 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MTCH. Barclays lowered their target price on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Match Group Price Performance

MTCH opened at $32.60 on Thursday. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.41 and its 200 day moving average is $34.55.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

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

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

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.