Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Evercore upgraded the stock from a cautious rating to an outperform rating. Evercore now has a $53.00 price target on the stock. Match Group traded as high as $44.95 and last traded at $44.7520, with a volume of 2,587,553 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.95.

MTCH has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Match Group from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Match Group in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Match Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 3,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.43, for a total transaction of $149,820.33. Following the sale, the director owned 26,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,138,778.77. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman purchased 3,000 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $36.63 per share, with a total value of $109,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 56,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,064,833.10. The trade was a 5.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,291 shares of company stock worth $976,478. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Match Group during the second quarter worth about $77,859,000. PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,754,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,631,000. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,275,000. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,180,000. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Match Group Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.27%.

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.