State of Alaska Department of Revenue Acquires 148,675 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 496.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,630 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 148,675 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned 0.07% of Match Group worth $5,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTCH. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth $361,605,000. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Match Group by 301.7% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 48,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 36,200 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its position in Match Group by 510.3% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 65,086 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 54,422 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Match Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,170,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Match Group by 71.4% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 643,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,344,000 after buying an additional 267,890 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MTCH. HSBC cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $33.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $38.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.66.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 721.15% and a net margin of 17.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Match Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Match Group’s payout ratio is 33.93%.

Match Group Profile

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.