Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Match Group's shares rose significantly, from a previous close of $33.73 to an opening price of $35.97 after announcing a $0.19 dividend to be paid on October 17th.
• Analyst ratings for Match Group are mixed, with one sell rating, 15 hold ratings, and five buy ratings, contributing to a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.44.
• CEO Spencer M. Rascoff increased his ownership of Match Group shares by 106.45% through a purchase of 70,885 shares, now valued at approximately $3.86 million.

Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $33.73, but opened at $35.97. Match Group shares last traded at $38.39, with a volume of 2,829,508 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Match Group's payout ratio is currently 37.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Match Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.44.

Match Group Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $32.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.58. The firm has a market cap of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.72, for a total value of $459,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $295,889.76. The trade was a 60.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Match Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MTCH. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Match Group by 56.0% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,008 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Match Group during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in Match Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Match Group during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Match Group by 30,240.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company's stock.

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.