Brokerages Set Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Target Price at $37.68

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.68.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MTCH. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Match Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MTCH opened at $31.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group has a twelve month low of $27.66 and a twelve month high of $38.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.93 and a 200-day moving average of $34.01.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Match Group will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Match Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the transaction, the president now owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Match Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,956 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Match Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,035 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 1.5% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 25,952 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 23,149 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.