Morgan Stanley Increases Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Price Target to $32.00

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

MTCH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Match Group from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Match Group from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Match Group from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Match Group from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.72.

Match Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $31.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.40. Match Group has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $39.91.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.93%.

Match Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Match Group by 88.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,263,311 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $190,279,000 after buying an additional 2,940,667 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group during the second quarter worth approximately $49,053,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $62,804,000 after buying an additional 1,601,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Match Group by 75.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 977,090 shares during the last quarter. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.