Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Increases Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 110.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,624,212 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,952,470 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 2.24% of Match Group worth $183,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Starboard Value LP acquired a new position in shares of Match Group in the third quarter valued at about $361,605,000. Paloma Partners Management Co boosted its position in Match Group by 510.3% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 65,086 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,463,000 after buying an additional 54,422 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,789,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Match Group by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,510 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 28,884 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Match Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company's stock worth $211,818,000 after buying an additional 939,078 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of MTCH traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.48. 1,772,094 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,900,102. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. Match Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $38.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.71 and a 200-day moving average of $33.68.

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Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Match Group's payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MTCH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. New Street Research lowered shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. HSBC lowered Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.68.

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.