250,531 Shares in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 250,531 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,195,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Match Group by 496.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 178,630 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,842,000 after acquiring an additional 148,675 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Match Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 6,645 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Match Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 18,732 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,939,394 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,438,000 after buying an additional 279,676 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc grew its stake in Match Group by 80.8% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 38,634 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after buying an additional 17,261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $33.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $38.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.66.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, research analysts expect that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Insider Activity at Match Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MTCH shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Match Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

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.