Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $183.97 Million Stock Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 110.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,624,212 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,952,470 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Match Group were worth $183,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Match Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $361,605,000. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 510.3% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 65,086 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 54,422 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,789,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Match Group by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,510 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 28,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Match Group by 17.0% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Price Performance

Match Group stock opened at $30.63 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.77. The company has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. Equities analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MTCH. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $55,533.40. This trade represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.