Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 939,078 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Match Group were worth $211,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Match Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $668,732,000 after purchasing an additional 391,977 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in Match Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $361,605,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Match Group by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,668,000 after purchasing an additional 524,144 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,733,000 after purchasing an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Match Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,064,079 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,105,000 after purchasing an additional 159,022 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTCH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.72.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction of $25,319.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,900.78. This trade represents a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH opened at $34.06 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $39.91.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Match Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

Match Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.