Match Group, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.19 (NASDAQ:MTCH)

Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTCH) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.19 per share by the technology company on Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd.

Match Group has a dividend payout ratio of 30.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Match Group to earn $2.82 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.0%.

Match Group Price Performance

Shares of MTCH stock opened at $31.20 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.74. The firm has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.45. Match Group has a 1-year low of $27.66 and a 1-year high of $38.84.

Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.84% and a negative return on equity of 574.22%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Match Group will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MTCH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Match Group from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Match Group from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, HSBC lowered Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Match Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.68.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Match Group news, President Gary Swidler sold 242,209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $7,958,987.74. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,690 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,533.40. This represents a 99.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.77% 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.