Teacher Retirement System of Texas Makes New Investment in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 216,771 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,091,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Match Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Match Group by 420.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,652 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Match Group by 126.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $30.49 on Friday. Match Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $38.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.94. The firm has a market cap of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Match Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MTCH. Hsbc Global Res cut Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. New Street Research cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Match Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

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.