National Bank of Canada FI Increases Stock Position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,279 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 12,770 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Match Group were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Match Group by 420.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Match Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 96.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Match Group by 432.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,387 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 4,375 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTCH has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. New Street Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Match Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This trade represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Price Performance

MTCH opened at $27.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.53. Match Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.73 and a 1 year high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management 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.