Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 8,900 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,102 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Match Group were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Match Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $668,732,000 after buying an additional 391,977 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in Match Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $211,818,000 after buying an additional 939,078 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Match Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $209,668,000 after buying an additional 524,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Match Group by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,733,000 after buying an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of MTCH opened at $32.60 on Thursday. Match Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $38.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.41 and a 200 day moving average of $34.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MTCH shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Match Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.