Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Matthews International Corporation $MATW

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) by 81.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,018 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 69,356 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.50% of Matthews International worth $3,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MATW. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Matthews International by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 19,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 4,217 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Matthews International by 797.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Matthews International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $650,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Matthews International by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 31,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Matthews International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $616,000. 83.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matthews International Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MATW opened at $24.96 on Friday. Matthews International Corporation has a one year low of $18.50 and a one year high of $32.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $768.54 million, a P/E ratio of -11.77 and a beta of 1.24.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $349.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.95 million. As a group, analysts expect that Matthews International Corporation will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Matthews International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Matthews International 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.