Blue Trust Inc. Has $180,000 Stock Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 113.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,504 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,922 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Match Group were worth $180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTCH. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group in the third quarter worth about $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Match Group by 2,732.1% during 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 boosted its holdings 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 valued at $36,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 866,026 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. New Street Research downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.68.

Match Group Trading Down 1.7 %

MTCH stock opened at $33.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.63. Match Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $38.84. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.