Northern Trust Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Match Group Inc. $MTCH

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Match Group Inc. by 7.6%, bringing its total holdings to approximately 2,340,291 shares, worth $73 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Match Group, with Starboard Value LP expanding by 53.4% and Invesco Ltd. by 64.2% in the first quarter.
• Match Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%, to be paid on October 17th.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,340,291 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 193,177 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.93% of Match Group worth $73,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. Starboard Value LP raised its holdings in Match Group by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company's stock worth $479,429,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100,824 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Match Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $142,281,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Match Group by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,565,726 shares of the technology company's stock worth $298,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738,509 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,499,123 shares of the technology company's stock worth $343,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Match Group by 126.1% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,679,575 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,403,000 after acquiring an additional 936,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MTCH. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Match Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.44.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $459,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $295,889.76. This represents a 60.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 5,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.58, for a total value of $203,796.34. Following the sale, the director directly owned 21,926 shares in the company, valued at $823,979.08. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Match Group Trading Up 0.8%

MTCH stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.34. 4,124,497 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,743,289. Match Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.39 and a 52-week high of $39.20. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.36. The stock's 50-day moving average is $34.35 and its 200 day moving average is $31.84.

Match Group Announces Dividend

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

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.