Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Shares Down 6.7%

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) fell 6.7% on Friday . The company traded as low as $34.84 and last traded at $35.62. 37,884 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 119,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MATW. TheStreet lowered shares of Matthews International from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Matthews International in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Matthews International from $50.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st.

Matthews International Stock Down 3.9 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37 and a beta of 1.15.

Matthews International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 24th. This is a boost from Matthews International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Matthews International’s payout ratio is 73.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matthews International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Matthews International during the 1st quarter worth about $287,000. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International in the 1st quarter valued at about $873,000. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 1,030,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,175,000 after purchasing an additional 26,372 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 882.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 59,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 53,641 shares during the period. 76.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Matthews International

Matthews International Corporation provides brand solutions, memorialization products, and industrial technologies worldwide. It operates through three segments: Memorialization, Industrial Technologies, and SGK Brand Solutions. The Memorialization segment provides bronze and granite memorials, upright granite memorials and monuments, concrete burial vaults, cremation memorialization products, granite benches, flower vases, crypt plates and letters, cremation urns, niche units, cemetery features, and statues, as well as bronze plaques, emblems, lights, photo ceramics, caskets, and cremation and incineration equipment for the cemetery and funeral home industries.