Short Interest in Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) Decreases By 25.2%

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,610,000 shares, a drop of 25.2% from the March 15th total of 12,840,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Match Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MTCH traded up $0.37 on Friday, reaching $29.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,561,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,946,131. Match Group has a twelve month low of $26.39 and a twelve month high of $38.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.08 and a 200 day moving average of $32.92.

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

Match Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Match Group

In other news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,533.40. The trade was a 99.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MTCH. Starboard Value LP increased its position in Match Group by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. Starboard Value LP now owns 14,656,970 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $479,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100,824 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Match Group by 716.8% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Match Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,176,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Match Group by 110.5% during the fourth 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 stake in Match Group by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,499,123 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $343,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042,677 shares during the period. 94.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Match Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Match Group from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI lowered Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Match Group from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.58.

Match Group Company Profile

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.