Barclays Lowers Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Price Target to $52.00

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $53.00 to $52.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the technology company’s stock.

MTCH has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI downgraded Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. New Street Research lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Match Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $34.59 on Thursday. Match Group has a fifty-two week low of $27.66 and a fifty-two week high of $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.66.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 721.15% and a net margin of 17.86%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Match Group will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is 33.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Match Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Match Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 10,647 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Match Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,006 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Match Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,956 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Match Group by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

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.