Barington Companies Management LLC Has $26.12 Million Stake in Matthews International Corporation $MATW

Barington Companies Management LLC grew its position in Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,196 shares during the quarter. Matthews International accounts for about 17.1% of Barington Companies Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Barington Companies Management LLC owned 3.21% of Matthews International worth $26,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATW. Private Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Matthews International during the third quarter worth about $8,215,000. Cannell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the second quarter worth $5,926,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Matthews International by 9.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,664,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,796,000 after acquiring an additional 137,015 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Matthews International by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,554,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,593,000 after acquiring an additional 136,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matthews International during the 4th quarter valued at $2,494,000. Institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Matthews International Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MATW opened at $26.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $836.78 million, a P/E ratio of 86.52 and a beta of 1.08. Matthews International Corporation has a 52-week low of $20.74 and a 52-week high of $30.93.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $258.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $253.65 million. Matthews International had a net margin of 0.80% and a return on equity of 5.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Matthews International Corporation will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Matthews International’s payout ratio is presently 329.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MATW. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matthews International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matthews International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Matthews International from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Matthews International Profile

Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ:MATW) is a diversified industrial company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company operates through two primary business segments—Brand Solutions and Memorialization—offering a broad range of products and services designed to meet the needs of industrial manufacturers, brand marketers and the funeral industry worldwide.

In its Brand Solutions segment, Matthews International provides engraving and digital printing systems, automated finishing equipment, thermal management products and electronics assembly solutions.