Match Group Inc. $MTCH Stock: D.A. Davidson & CO. Trims Position

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its holdings in Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 72.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,308 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,605 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Match Group were worth $534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $291,000. VestGen Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Match Group during the third quarter worth $224,000. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Match Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 85,525 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Match Group by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,934 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 3,531 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.43, for a total transaction of $149,820.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,138,778.77. This trade represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total transaction of $201,157.60. Following the sale, the director owned 11,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,216.92. This trade represents a 28.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,291 shares of company stock valued at $976,478 over the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MTCH shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Match Group from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Match Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Match Group in a report on Monday, August 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Match Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.64.

Match Group News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Match Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup said Match Group’s shares were expected to rise, while Barclays and Truist Financial raised their price targets. UBS also forecast strong potential appreciation, providing a positive counterweight to the downgrade. Citigroup analyst coverage Barclays price target Truist price target UBS forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Match Group’s Q3 earnings-call presentation was published, but the headline provided no new details on results or guidance. The supplied earnings figures show EPS modestly beat estimates, while revenue was slightly below consensus and down year over year. Q3 earnings-call presentation
• Negative Sentiment: A separate analyst downgrade was reported alongside a 5.9% drop in Match Group shares, signaling that more cautious views are weighing on sentiment despite the price-target increases. Analyst downgrade and share decline

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $39.03 on Friday. Match Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $46.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.69. The company has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.47.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 324.86% and a net margin of 20.69%. The company had revenue of $891.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $892.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Match Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Match Group Inc. will post 3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 6th. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.21%.

Match Group Profile

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.