New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 7,500 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 136,333 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Match Group were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Match Group by 3,325.7% in the 4th 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. boosted its stake in Match Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake 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 worth $78,733,000 after purchasing an additional 866,026 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Match Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Match Group stock opened at $31.71 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.52. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is 37.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTCH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Match Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

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.