Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Position in LendingTree, Inc. $TREE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in LendingTree, Inc. by 3.8%, now holding approximately 4.84% of the company's shares, valued at around $32.9 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Tower Research Capital LLC and Lazard Asset Management LLC, significantly increased their holdings in LendingTree during the 4th quarter, with increases of up to 4,926.7%.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment towards LendingTree, with upgrades from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and a consensus rating of "Buy," as well as target prices ranging from $62.00 to $70.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 654,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,560 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.84% of LendingTree worth $32,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 378,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,030,000 after buying an additional 17,343 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 249,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,543,000 after buying an additional 9,007 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of LendingTree by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 204,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,940,000 after buying an additional 27,887 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 168,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 127.2% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 166,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,455,000 after purchasing an additional 93,244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Heather Enlow-Novitsky sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.14, for a total value of $69,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 1,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,075.92. The trade was a 49.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jason Bengel sold 6,469 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.86, for a total transaction of $445,455.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 6,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $448,760.62. This trade represents a 49.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,669 shares of company stock worth $598,331. Corporate insiders own 23.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TREE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of LendingTree from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of LendingTree from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Truist Financial set a $62.00 price target on shares of LendingTree and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of LendingTree from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $65.38.

LendingTree Price Performance

Shares of LendingTree stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.84. The stock had a trading volume of 248,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,315. The firm has a market cap of $923.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.71 and a beta of 1.69. LendingTree, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.50 and a 12 month high of $70.72. The business's 50-day moving average is $50.23 and its 200 day moving average is $45.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.26.

LendingTree (NASDAQ:TREE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.04. LendingTree had a negative net margin of 5.33% and a positive return on equity of 25.79%. The company had revenue of $250.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $244.03 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LendingTree, Inc. will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

LendingTree Profile

LendingTree, Inc, through its subsidiary, operates online consumer platform in the United States. It operates through three segments: Home, Consumer, and Insurance. The Home segment offers purchase mortgage, refinance mortgage, and home equity loans and lines of credit; and real estate brokerage services.