Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC Acquires 650,593 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its position in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,158,785 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 650,593 shares during the period. Match Group makes up approximately 1.1% of Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC owned approximately 0.86% of Match Group worth $70,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Match Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Match Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,768,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Match Group by 468.6% in the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,481,967 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Match Group by 3,325.7% in 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 during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of Match Group stock opened at $30.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly 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, research analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MTCH. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. New Street Research cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other 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 transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is 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.