Achmea Investment Management B.V. Purchases 2,221 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 144,348 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,221 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Match Group were worth $4,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Match Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,768,000. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 4th quarter valued at $670,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Match Group by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,834 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Match Group by 148.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 292,364 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,563,000 after purchasing an additional 174,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 4th quarter valued at $327,000. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Match Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $30.94 on Friday. Match Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.17.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.