Allstate Corp Buys New Position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,123 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group during the third quarter valued at about $2,789,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Match Group by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 28,884 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Match Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Match Group by 56.8% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. raised its position in shares of Match Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 478,913 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,665,000 after purchasing an additional 8,414 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MTCH shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $31.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.70. The company has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. Match Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share 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, equities analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management 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. 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 2.41%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

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.