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

Shares of Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.63.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BTIG Research cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Starboard Value LP increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $479,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100,824 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Match Group by 716.8% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,254,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $171,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611,598 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Match Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,176,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Match Group by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $183,968,000 after buying an additional 2,952,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Match Group by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,499,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $343,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,042,677 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $28.48 on Tuesday. Match Group has a 12-month low of $26.39 and a 12-month high of $38.84. The stock has a market cap of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.58 and a 200-day moving average of $33.22.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. Equities research analysts expect that Match Group will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

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.