Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Price Target Raised to $44.00

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MTCH. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Match Group from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Match Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.64.

Match Group Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Match Group stock opened at $39.16 on Tuesday. Match Group has a 52-week low of $28.81 and a 52-week high of $46.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.12 and a 200 day moving average of $36.65. The company has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.47.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.02. Match Group had a net margin of 20.69% and a negative return on equity of 361.92%. The company had revenue of $891.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $892.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Match Group will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.21%.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total value of $201,157.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,742 shares in the company, valued at $496,216.92. This represents a 28.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.63 per share, for a total transaction of $109,890.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 56,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,064,833.10. The trade was a 5.62% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,291 shares of company stock valued at $976,478 over the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MTCH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Match Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,087,055,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Match Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $154,811,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Match Group by 196.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,194,368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $98,099,000 after buying an additional 2,117,414 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,576 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $97,761,000 after acquiring an additional 92,364 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 11.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,054,114 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after acquiring an additional 323,006 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Match Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup expects Match Group shares to rise, while Barclays and Truist raised their price targets and UBS forecast strong appreciation. These calls may support investor confidence. Citigroup analyst outlook Barclays price target Truist price target UBS outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Tinder’s global daily active users returned to year-over-year growth in September, and Match expects full-year revenue to finish above the midpoint of its guidance range—potential signs of improving engagement and execution. Three earnings takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: Match is testing a lower-priced Hinge plan. It could broaden access and attract users, but investors will want to see whether added subscriptions outweigh any pressure on revenue per user. Hinge plan analysis
• Negative Sentiment: A reported analyst downgrade weighed on sentiment, despite the separate target increases. Match’s latest quarterly revenue also came in slightly below expectations and declined 2.5% year over year, tempering its earnings-per-share beat. Analyst downgrade report

Match Group Company Profile

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.