Man Group plc Purchases 97,563 Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 65.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,332 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 97,563 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.10% of Match Group worth $8,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,499,123 shares of the technology company's stock worth $343,427,000 after buying an additional 2,042,677 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company's stock worth $211,818,000 after buying an additional 939,078 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,827,217 shares of the technology company's stock worth $190,608,000 after buying an additional 1,174,889 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Match Group by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company's stock worth $183,968,000 after buying an additional 2,952,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in Match Group by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 5,467,257 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,834,000 after purchasing an additional 541,556 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Spencer M. Rascoff purchased 70,885 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.05 per share, with a total value of $1,988,324.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 137,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,856,257.90. The trade was a 106.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Match Group from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Match Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Match Group from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Match Group from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.91.

Match Group Stock Up 2.3%

Match Group stock opened at $29.93 on Tuesday. Match Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $38.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.73.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Match Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.62%.

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.

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