Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Stock Rating Lowered by Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI cut shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) from an outperform rating to an inline rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $35.00 target price on the technology company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MTCH. BTIG Research lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Match Group from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

Match Group Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $34.59 on Thursday. Match Group has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $38.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.66. The firm has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.45.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its 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 net margin of 17.86% and a negative return on equity of 721.15%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Match Group will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $361,605,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 2,732.1% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 468.6% during the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,481,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221,347 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Match Group by 3,325.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,122,906 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,730,000 after buying an additional 1,090,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,475,636 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,818,000 after buying an additional 939,078 shares during the period. 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.