Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Buys New Stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,221,715 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,962,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned about 0.49% of Match Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MTCH. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Match Group in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in Match Group in the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Match Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Match Group by 420.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Match Group by 126.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Match Group Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH opened at $30.49 on Monday. Match Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $38.84. The company has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.93.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. HSBC downgraded shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.