Insider Buying: LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) COO Acquires 9,794 Shares of Stock

LendingTree, Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE) COO Scott Peyree purchased 9,794 shares of LendingTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.13 per share, with a total value of $451,797.22. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,500,719.58. This trade represents a 11.16 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Scott Peyree also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 11th, Scott Peyree bought 21,045 shares of LendingTree stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $41.69 per share, with a total value of $877,366.05.

LendingTree Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of LendingTree stock opened at $50.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. LendingTree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.58 and a 52-week high of $62.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.75 and a beta of 2.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TREE. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of LendingTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of LendingTree from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Northland Securities raised shares of LendingTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of LendingTree from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of LendingTree from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TREE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of LendingTree by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 48.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 20,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 6,727 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 30.5% in the third quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 21,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 5,072 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in LendingTree by 27.9% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 16,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in LendingTree in the third quarter valued at $247,000. Institutional investors own 68.26% of the company’s stock.

LendingTree Company Profile

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.