3,560 Shares in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Purchased by SBI Securities Co. Ltd.

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,560 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Match Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,956 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Match Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 25,952 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Match Group by 617.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. River Global Investors LLP raised its holdings in Match Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. River Global Investors LLP now owns 82,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Match Group by 17.2% in the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of MTCH opened at $32.62 on Friday. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.18 and a 200-day moving average of $34.38.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTCH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. HSBC lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, New Street Research lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Company 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.