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

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.68.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MTCH shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Match Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH opened at $34.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group has a 52 week low of $27.66 and a 52 week high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Match Group will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s payout ratio is 37.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Match Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,672,611 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $668,732,000 after acquiring an additional 391,977 shares during the last quarter. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Match Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,818,000 after purchasing an additional 939,078 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,827,217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,608,000 after buying an additional 1,174,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 110.5% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $183,968,000 after buying an additional 2,952,470 shares in the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.