Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295,472 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 9,176 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.16% of Hello Group worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Hello Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hello Group during the fourth quarter valued at $124,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hello Group in the 4th quarter valued at $131,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA purchased a new position in Hello Group in the 3rd quarter worth $144,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Hello Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $153,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.96% of the company’s stock.

Hello Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ MOMO opened at $6.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $879.54 million, a P/E ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 3.74 and a current ratio of 3.74. Hello Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.30 and a fifty-two week high of $11.12.

Hello Group (NASDAQ:MOMO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The information services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.02). Hello Group had a return on equity of 17.23% and a net margin of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $422.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $447.28 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hello Group Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Hello Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MOMO shares. Benchmark reduced their price objective on Hello Group from $22.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hello Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd.

About Hello Group

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in three segments: Momo, Tantan, and QOOL. The company offers Momo, a mobile application that connects people and facilitates social interactions based on location, interests, and various online recreational activities, including live talent shows, short videos, social games, as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as online parties, mobile karaoke and user participated reality shows; Tantan, a social and dating application; and other applications under the Hertz, Soulchill, Duidui, and Tietie names.