Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Price Target to $32.00

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $33.00 to $32.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Match Group from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Match Group from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Match Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.27.

Match Group Stock Performance

Match Group stock opened at $30.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.47. Match Group has a 1 year low of $27.66 and a 1 year high of $42.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.11.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%.

Match Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Match Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 10,647 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,006 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Match Group by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 4,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Match Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 25,952 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Match Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,955 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.