California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 420,779 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 31,475 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Match Group worth $13,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Match Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,176,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $183,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952,470 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 4,659.2% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,915,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,643,000 after buying an additional 1,874,853 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 2,732.1% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,804,000 after buying an additional 1,601,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Match Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,768,000. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.05. The stock had a trading volume of 890,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,946,488. Match Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.39 and a 12 month high of $38.84. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.34. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTCH shares. BTIG Research lowered Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.63.

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.