Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 279,676 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,939,394 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279,676 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.77% of Match Group worth $63,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in Match Group in the 3rd quarter worth $361,605,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Match Group by 3,325.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,122,906 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 17.0% during the 4th 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. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $78,733,000 after purchasing an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group in the third quarter worth about $20,097,000. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTCH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Match Group from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. New Street Research cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.72.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $36.47 on Wednesday. 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 $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.66.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 17.86% and a negative return on equity of 721.15%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

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.