Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.72.

MTCH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Match Group from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,900.78. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Match Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $668,732,000 after purchasing an additional 391,977 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP bought a new position in Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Match Group by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,540,916 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,668,000 after buying an additional 524,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Match Group by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,390,194 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $78,733,000 after buying an additional 866,026 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Stock Performance

MTCH opened at $32.58 on Thursday. Match Group has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $39.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.52. The company has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.93%.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.