Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Price Target Raised to $32.00

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

MTCH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.72.

Match Group Stock Up 1.2 %

MTCH stock opened at $32.07 on Monday. Match Group has a 52-week low of $27.66 and a 52-week high of $39.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.41.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Match Group’s payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MTCH. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Match Group by 88.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,263,311 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,279,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940,667 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Match Group during the second quarter worth about $49,053,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Match Group by 75.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,271,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,018,000 after purchasing an additional 977,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

About Match Group

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.