State of Alaska Department of Revenue Acquires 148,675 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 496.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,630 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 148,675 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned about 0.07% of Match Group worth $5,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Match Group by 617.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Match Group by 433.5% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,846 shares of the technology company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Match Group in the third quarter worth approximately $87,000. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $391,900.78. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Match Group Price Performance

MTCH stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.93. The stock had a trading volume of 6,172,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,464,147. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.67. Match Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $38.84.

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 negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. Research analysts predict that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTCH has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Match Group from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.68.

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.