Barclays PLC Trims Holdings in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Barclays PLC cut its position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 928,819 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 270,767 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.37% of Match Group worth $30,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Match Group by 420.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,652 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Match Group in the 4th quarter worth $116,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Match Group by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,071 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Match Group by 432.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,387 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 4,375 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MTCH shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Match Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC cut Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.58.

Match Group Stock Up 1.3 %

MTCH stock opened at $29.02 on Friday. Match Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.39 and a twelve month high of $38.84. The company has a market cap of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.95.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Match Group, Inc. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

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.