Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 683,132 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,486,837 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 683,132 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.99% of Match Group worth $81,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Match Group by 3,325.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,122,906 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,127 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Match Group by 56.8% in the 4th 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 period. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MTCH. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

Match Group Price Performance

Match Group stock opened at $31.71 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.37 and its 200 day moving average is $34.52. Match Group, Inc. has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $38.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. 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 of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Match Group Company 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.