Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Shares Break Below 50-Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Match Group shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $41.96 after Wells Fargo cut its price target from $40 to $39 and maintained an equal-weight rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus, 16 total Buy or Hold ratings, and an average price target of $44.23.
• Institutional investors own 94.05% of Match Group, while insiders sold $976,478 worth of shares over the past three months; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20, yielding about 1.9%.

Match Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $39.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.17 and traded as low as $41.96. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Match Group shares last traded at $42.06, with a volume of 4,544,627 shares traded.

MTCH has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Match Group in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Match Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Match Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Match Group from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Match Group from a "cautious" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Match Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.23.

Insider Transactions at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Ann Mcdaniel sold 3,531 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.43, for a total value of $149,820.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,839 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,778.77. This represents a 11.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Glenn Schiffman acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.63 per share, with a total value of $109,890.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 56,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,064,833.10. This trade represents a 5.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,291 shares of company stock worth $976,478 in the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Match Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in Match Group by 124.3% during the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 112,600 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,521,000 after purchasing an additional 62,400 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Match Group by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,780 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 5,898 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Match Group by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Match Group by 37.7% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,859 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 6,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Match Group during the third quarter valued at $291,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company's stock.

Match Group Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.39.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. Match Group had a negative return on equity of 324.82% and a net margin of 20.17%. The firm had revenue of $853.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $857.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Match Group Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 5th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Match Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.27%.

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.

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