State of Alaska Department of Revenue Purchases 148,675 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 496.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 178,630 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,675 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Match Group were worth $5,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 617.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 433.5% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,846 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Match Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. New Street Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Match Group Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH opened at $33.80 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 17.86% and a negative return on equity of 721.15%. Analysts forecast that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.37 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors 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 yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.