Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 1,822,362 Shares of Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Match Group Inc. by 17.4%, acquiring an additional 1,822,362 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 4.92% valued at about $384.8 million.
• Match Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, set to be paid on October 17th, which results in an annualized yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Match Group's stock, with target prices ranging from $30.00 to $45.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,321,485 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,822,362 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 4.92% of Match Group worth $384,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Match Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 19,671 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Match Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 33,132 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Match Group by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,897 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Match Group by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,255 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,090 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Match Group by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 553,599 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $17,272,000 after acquiring an additional 47,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MTCH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Match Group from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.44.

Match Group Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ MTCH traded up $0.51 on Friday, reaching $37.30. 3,896,474 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,160,995. Match Group Inc. has a one year low of $26.39 and a one year high of $39.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $33.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.72.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.44%.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $459,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,058 shares in the company, valued at $295,889.76. This trade represents a 60.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.