JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) Stock Price

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $33.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MTCH. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Match Group from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Match Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Match Group from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.96.

Match Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MTCH opened at $30.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.73. Match Group has a 52 week low of $26.39 and a 52 week high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.22). Match Group had a negative return on equity of 574.22% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Match Group will post 2.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.62%.

Insider Activity at Match Group

In related news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction of $7,958,987.74. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,533.40. This trade represents a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Match Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Starboard Value LP increased its position in shares of Match Group by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $479,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100,824 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Match Group by 716.8% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,254,933 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $171,889,000 after buying an additional 4,611,598 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Match Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,176,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Match Group by 110.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,624,212 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $183,968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Match Group by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,499,123 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $343,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.