Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 235,647 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 175,304 shares.The stock last traded at $26.61 and had previously closed at $27.11.

Matthews International Stock Down 9.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $822.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.76 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.12). Matthews International had a positive return on equity of 13.69% and a negative net margin of 3.32%. As a group, analysts expect that Matthews International Co. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Matthews International’s payout ratio is currently -51.81%.

Institutional Trading of Matthews International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 63.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Matthews International by 1,865.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the 4th quarter valued at about $154,000. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matthews International during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. 83.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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, letters, emblems, vases, lights and photo ceramics, granite monuments, mausoleums, crypts, and flush memorials.