Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) shares saw strong trading volume on Monday. Approximately 1,587,861 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 284% from the previous session’s volume of 413,118 shares. The stock last traded at $19.29 and had previously closed at $19.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MATW has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Matthews International from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matthews International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Matthews International in a research report on Friday, August 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Matthews International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $24.00.

Matthews International Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a market cap of $606.16 million, a P/E ratio of -20.88 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.81 and a 200 day moving average of $24.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $246.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.54 million. Matthews International had a positive return on equity of 4.51% and a negative net margin of 2.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Matthews International Corporation will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2550 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Matthews International’s payout ratio is -109.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director J Nauman purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $45,940.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 7,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,650.57. This trade represents a 39.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aleta W. Richards acquired 3,000 shares of Matthews International stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.06 per share, for a total transaction of $69,180.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,535 shares in the company, valued at $289,057.10. This trade represents a 31.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 8,900 shares of company stock valued at $197,914. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Matthews International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATW. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Matthews International by 232.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matthews International in the second quarter worth about $786,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the second quarter worth about $616,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in Matthews International in the first quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

About Matthews International

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ: MATW) is a global manufacturer and provider of products, technologies and services for the memorialization, industrial technology and brand experience markets. Founded in 1850 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company serves customers in North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.

Through its Memorialization business, Matthews supplies burial and cremation products and services, including caskets, urns, memorials, cemetery products, architectural features and related technologies.