Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $34.00 price objective on Match Group in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Match Group from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.86.

Match Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $32.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.32. Match Group has a fifty-two week low of $26.39 and a fifty-two week high of $39.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.93.

Match Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 7th. This is an increase from Match Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Spencer M. Rascoff bought 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.84 per share, for a total transaction of $445,760.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 165,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,257,675.52. This trade represents a 9.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Match Group by 1,163.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,137,898 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $216,791,000 after acquiring an additional 5,652,174 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $134,429,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Match Group by 15,523.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,488,204 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $107,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,465,877 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Match Group by 2,474.5% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,741,573 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $96,832,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Match Group by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,275,943 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $680,826,000 after buying an additional 2,461,025 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Company Profile

Match Group, Inc (NASDAQ: MTCH) is a leading provider of online dating products and services. The company owns and operates a diverse portfolio of consumer brands that connect singles through digital platforms. Its flagship offerings include Match.com, Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and PlentyOfFish, which together serve users looking for long-term relationships, casual encounters and social networking opportunities.

Originating with the launch of Match.com in 1995, Match Group has grown through a combination of organic development and strategic acquisitions.