Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in Match Group Inc (NASDAQ:MTCH)

29 May 2020, 13:34 by Mitch Edgeman

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Match Group Inc (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 117.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,850 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 25,326 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Match Group were worth $3,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Match Group by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 12,130,441 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $996,031,000 after buying an additional 2,674,978 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Match Group by 2.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,907,684 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $192,021,000 after buying an additional 69,813 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Match Group by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,707,337 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $222,300,000 after purchasing an additional 188,769 shares during the period. Gladstone Capital Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Match Group by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP now owns 1,473,778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $121,012,000 after purchasing an additional 317,098 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Match Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,101,479 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $90,442,000 after purchasing an additional 444,253 shares during the period. 30.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $88.93 on Friday. Match Group Inc has a 1-year low of $44.74 and a 1-year high of $95.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.09, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.37. The company has a market capitalization of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 45.84, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.52.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.19. Match Group had a return on equity of 199.73% and a net margin of 26.84%. The firm had revenue of $544.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.02 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Match Group Inc will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, insider Jared F. Sine sold 6,230 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.08, for a total transaction of $486,438.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,025,346.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.97, for a total value of $773,730.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,332 shares in the company, valued at $716,302.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,102 shares of company stock valued at $8,853,507 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MTCH shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Match Group from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Match Group from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. ValuEngine raised Match Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Nomura Securities raised their price target on Match Group from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, SunTrust Banks raised their price target on Match Group from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.26.

Match Group Company Profile

Match Group, Inc provides dating products worldwide. It operates a portfolio of brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs, and Hinge, as well as other brands. Match Group, Inc offers its dating products through its applications and Websites in approximately 40 languages.