Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 523,537 Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 523,537 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,921,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Match Group by 338.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,143,744 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,124,000 after purchasing an additional 882,821 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in shares of Match Group by 97.2% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,549,147 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,574,000 after buying an additional 763,764 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Match Group by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,054,114 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after buying an additional 323,006 shares in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,202,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 816,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,374,000 after buying an additional 148,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Price Performance

MTCH opened at $41.58 on Friday. Match Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.81 and a 1-year high of $42.49. The stock has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.27.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $853.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $857.77 million. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 324.82% and a net margin of 20.17%.Match Group’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Match Group Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. Match Group’s payout ratio is 28.27%.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total value of $201,157.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,742 shares in the company, valued at $496,216.92. The trade was a 28.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Philip D. Eigenmann sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $625,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 19,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,521.30. The trade was a 43.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTCH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Match Group from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Match Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Match Group from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Match Group from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.46.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc (NASDAQ: MTCH) is a leading provider of online dating products and services. The company owns and operates a diverse portfolio of consumer brands that connect singles through digital platforms. Its flagship offerings include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and PlentyOfFish, which together serve users looking for long-term relationships, casual encounters and social networking opportunities.

Originating with the launch of Match.com in 1995, Match Group has grown through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions.