Boston Partners Sells 21,203 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Boston Partners trimmed its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,351,834 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 21,203 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.54% of Match Group worth $44,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Match Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $668,732,000 after buying an additional 391,977 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Match Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,818,000 after buying an additional 939,078 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Match Group by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,668,000 after buying an additional 524,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Match Group by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,667,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $87,267,000 after buying an additional 69,947 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ MTCH opened at $31.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $38.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.94 and a 200 day moving average of $34.03.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. Equities analysts predict that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Match Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTCH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Match Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

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.