New Street Research Downgrades Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) to Neutral

New Street Research cut shares of Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Match Group from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Match Group from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.06.

Match Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ MTCH opened at $32.36 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.21. Match Group has a one year low of $27.66 and a one year high of $42.42. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.47.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 19% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.93%.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,900.78. This represents a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTCH. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Match Group by 617.3% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Match Group by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,307 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in Match Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Match Group during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Match Group Company Profile

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.