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

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its position in shares of Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) by 72.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,308 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 35,605 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Match Group were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Match Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,087,055,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Match Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $154,811,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Match Group by 196.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,194,368 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $98,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117,414 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Match Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,183,576 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,761,000 after buying an additional 92,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Match Group by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,054,114 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $93,792,000 after purchasing an additional 323,006 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTCH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Match Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Match Group from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays raised their price target on Match Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore raised Match Group from a “cautious” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.64.

Match Group Stock Performance

Shares of MTCH opened at $39.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.69. The stock 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.81 and a 1 year high of $46.67.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.02. Match Group had a net margin of 20.69% and a negative return on equity of 324.86%. The firm had revenue of $891.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $892.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Match Group’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Match Group Inc. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Match Group news, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 3,531 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.43, for a total transaction of $149,820.33. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,839 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,778.77. The trade was a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen Bailey sold 4,760 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.26, for a total value of $201,157.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,291 shares of company stock valued at $976,478. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Match Group Company 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.