Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Wells Fargo & Company

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $40.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MTCH. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore upgraded shares of Match Group from a “cautious” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Match Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on Match Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.23.

Match Group Trading Down 2.9%

NASDAQ MTCH opened at $41.41 on Wednesday. Match Group has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $46.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.49. The company has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $853.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $857.77 million. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 324.82% and a net margin of 20.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Match Group will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 5th. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is 28.27%.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total transaction of $201,157.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,742 shares in the company, valued at $496,216.92. This trade represents a 28.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Philip Eigenmann sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $625,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 19,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,521.30. This trade represents a 43.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,291 shares of company stock worth $976,478 over the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Match Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter worth $1,087,055,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $154,811,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,796,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Match Group by 196.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,194,368 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $98,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,576 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,761,000 after purchasing an additional 92,364 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Match Group

Match Group, Inc is a global provider of online dating and social discovery services. The company operates a portfolio of dating applications and websites designed to help people form relationships, including Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, BLK, Chispa and The League.

Its platforms serve users across a broad range of geographies and relationship preferences. Match Group generates revenue primarily through paid subscriptions, premium features, à la carte purchases and advertising.