Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 3,429,397 Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,429,397 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $112,176,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.37% of Match Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MTCH. FMR LLC grew its position in Match Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company's stock worth $209,668,000 after buying an additional 524,144 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Match Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,802,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its position in Match Group by 77.8% during the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 274,301 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,380,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in Match Group during the third quarter worth about $845,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Match Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH traded down $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.74. The stock had a trading volume of 10,590,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,930,451. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.61 and its 200 day moving average is $33.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. On average, research analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $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 2.64%. Match Group's payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MTCH. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BTIG Research cut Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Match Group from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, New Street Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Match Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.