Match Group Inc. $MTCH Stake Boosted by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Match Group Inc. by 2.5% in the first quarter, now owning 668,100 shares valued at approximately $20.8 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Match Group, with JPMorgan Chase and Susquehanna setting targets at $33.00 and $45.00, respectively, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Match Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, representing a 2.0% yield based on an annualized basis, with a payout ratio of 37.44%.

Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 668,100 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,092 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.27% of Match Group worth $20,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 130.1% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,536 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MTCH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.44.

Match Group Price Performance

Match Group stock opened at $37.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. Match Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $39.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.14.

Match Group Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Match Group's payout ratio is currently 37.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, CAO Philip D. Eigenmann sold 6,531 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.52, for a total transaction of $245,043.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 23,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $871,964.80. The trade was a 21.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $295,889.76. This represents a 60.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,454 shares of company stock valued at $907,839 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

About Match Group

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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