Short Interest in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Declines By 21.9%

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,340,000 shares, a decrease of 21.9% from the November 30th total of 19,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 6.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTCH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Match Group in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. New Street Research lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Match Group from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other Match Group news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total transaction of $25,319.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Match Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Match Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Match Group by 88.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,263,311 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $190,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940,667 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Match Group during the second quarter worth approximately $49,053,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Match Group by 75.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,271,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,018,000 after purchasing an additional 977,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.05% of the company’s stock.

Match Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MTCH opened at $33.17 on Friday. Match Group has a 12-month low of $27.66 and a 12-month high of $42.42. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.24.

Match Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Match Group’s payout ratio is 33.93%.

Match Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.