Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 312,716 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 65.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,428 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 312,716 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.06% of Match Group worth $5,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MTCH. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 716.8% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,254,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $171,889,000 after buying an additional 4,611,598 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Match Group during the fourth quarter worth about $112,176,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company's stock worth $183,968,000 after buying an additional 2,952,470 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in Match Group by 4,659.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,915,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,643,000 after buying an additional 1,874,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Match Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MTCH traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.02. 3,561,208 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,938,093. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $31.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.01. Match Group, Inc. has a one year low of $26.39 and a one year high of $38.84. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last released its 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 negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTCH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Match Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Match Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,533.40. This trade represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Match Group

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.