CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Makes New $56,000 Investment in LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in shares of LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TREE. Barclays PLC grew its stake in LendingTree by 301.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 16,077 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in LendingTree by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 242,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,393,000 after buying an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in LendingTree by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 1,728 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in LendingTree by 101.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 2,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in LendingTree by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 24,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. 68.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of LendingTree from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.75.

Insider Activity at LendingTree

In other LendingTree news, COO Scott Peyree bought 9,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.13 per share, with a total value of $451,797.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,500,719.58. This trade represents a 11.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LendingTree Trading Down 2.7 %

TREE opened at $51.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $691.00 million, a PE ratio of -19.11 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $46.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. LendingTree, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.55 and a 12-month high of $62.49.

About LendingTree

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.