Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.4375.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Match Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Match Group from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Match Group from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Match Group from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Match Group in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total transaction of $459,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,889.76. This represents a 60.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Philip D. Eigenmann sold 6,531 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.52, for a total value of $245,043.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 23,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,964.80. The trade was a 21.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,454 shares of company stock valued at $907,839. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Match Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Match Group by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 19,671 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Match Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 33,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Match Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $226,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Match Group by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,897 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Match Group by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,090 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $34.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.67 and a 200-day moving average of $32.71. Match Group has a one year low of $26.39 and a one year high of $39.20.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.44%.

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.