Factorial Partners LLC Purchases 15,500 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Factorial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 155,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 15,500 shares during the quarter. Match Group accounts for approximately 2.9% of Factorial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Factorial Partners LLC’s holdings in Match Group were worth $5,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MTCH. State Street Corp grew its stake in Match Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $668,732,000 after acquiring an additional 391,977 shares during the period. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group in the third quarter valued at $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Match Group by 10.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $209,668,000 after purchasing an additional 524,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Match Group by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,486,837 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,344,000 after buying an additional 683,132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MTCH shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Match Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $31.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.52.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board 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.