Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.10, but opened at $28.00. Matthews International shares last traded at $30.15, with a volume of 46,443 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Matthews International from $54.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 26th.

Matthews International Trading Up 14.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $949.58 million, a P/E ratio of -16.08 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Matthews International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Matthews International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Matthews International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -51.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matthews International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATW. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Matthews International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,793,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Matthews International by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,208,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,037,000 after purchasing an additional 76,911 shares in the last quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. boosted its position in shares of Matthews International by 18.2% during the third quarter. Barington Capital Group L.P. now owns 455,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,556,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Matthews International during the second quarter worth $1,437,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Matthews International by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 708,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,434,000 after buying an additional 55,687 shares during the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Matthews International Company 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.