Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) Raises Dividend to $0.24 Per Share

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 15th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share on Monday, December 11th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 24th. This is an increase from Matthews International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23.

Matthews International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 28 years. Matthews International has a payout ratio of 29.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Matthews International to earn $3.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.5%.

Matthews International Stock Performance

Shares of MATW opened at $38.18 on Friday. Matthews International has a 12-month low of $27.17 and a 12-month high of $48.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of Matthews International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATW. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Matthews International by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Matthews International by 97.7% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 728.5% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International in the second quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.40% of the company’s stock.

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.