Matthews International Corporation $MATW Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,243,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 217,320 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.46% of Matthews International worth $72,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATW. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 797.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Matthews International in the first quarter valued at about $149,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Matthews International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Matthews International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its stake in shares of Matthews International by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 14,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matthews International Stock Up 5.2%

Matthews International stock opened at $24.96 on Friday. Matthews International Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.50 and a fifty-two week high of $32.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $768.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.77 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.05). Matthews International had a positive return on equity of 9.15% and a negative net margin of 4.01%.The business had revenue of $349.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.95 million. Analysts predict that Matthews International Corporation will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Matthews International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Matthews International Company Profile

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, letters, emblems, vases, lights and photo ceramics, granite monuments, mausoleums, crypts, and flush memorials.