Insider Buying: LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) COO Buys 21,045 Shares of Stock

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) COO Scott Peyree bought 21,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $41.69 per share, with a total value of $877,366.05. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 76,760 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,124.40. The trade was a 37.77 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

LendingTree Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:TREE traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.92. 184,624 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,081. LendingTree, Inc. has a one year low of $33.58 and a one year high of $62.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.49. The company has a market cap of $615.00 million, a PE ratio of -17.00 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TREE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. StockNews.com raised LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Northland Securities upgraded LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of LendingTree in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Northland Capmk raised LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LendingTree presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.75.

Institutional Trading of LendingTree

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised 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 valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of LendingTree during the fourth quarter valued at $298,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of LendingTree in the 4th quarter worth about $899,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in LendingTree in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,612,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in LendingTree during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,045,000. 68.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.