Legal & General Group Plc Invests $19.92 Million in Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 523,537 Match Group shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $19.92 million and representing about 0.22% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 94.05% of Match Group.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.46. Match Group recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.70 versus the $0.65 consensus estimate, although revenue declined 1.2% year over year.
• Match Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, or $0.80 annualized, implying a 1.9% yield. The company’s stock opened at $41.58, near its 12-month high of $42.49.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 523,537 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $19,921,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.22% of Match Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Match Group by 6,523.1% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 861 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Match Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Match Group by 91.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 903 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Match Group by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,028 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 1,319.4% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 951 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTCH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Match Group from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Susquehanna reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler set a $51.00 price objective on Match Group in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Match Group from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.46.

Match Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MTCH opened at $41.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $38.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.27. Match Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.81 and a 12-month high of $42.49.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $853.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.77 million. Match Group had a net margin of 20.17% and a negative return on equity of 324.82%. Match Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Match Group Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Philip D. Eigenmann sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $625,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 19,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $808,521.30. This trade represents a 43.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $36.63 per share, for a total transaction of $109,890.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 56,370 shares in the company, valued at $2,064,833.10. This trade represents a 5.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Match Group Profile

Match Group, Inc NASDAQ: MTCH is a leading provider of online dating products and services. The company owns and operates a diverse portfolio of consumer brands that connect singles through digital platforms. Its flagship offerings include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and PlentyOfFish, which together serve users looking for long-term relationships, casual encounters and social networking opportunities.

Originating with the launch of Match.com in 1995, Match Group has grown through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions.

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