Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,882 Shares of Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Matthews International Co. (NASDAQ:MATW) by 3.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 159,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,882 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Matthews International were worth $4,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Matthews International by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 587,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,259,000 after buying an additional 117,461 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Matthews International by 267.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 19,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 14,030 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in Matthews International by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 142,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Millrace Asset Group Inc. bought a new stake in Matthews International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,701,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Matthews International by 108.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.08% of the company’s stock.

Matthews International Trading Down 3.4 %

MATW stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.63. The company had a trading volume of 20,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,107. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. Matthews International Co. has a 52 week low of $23.42 and a 52 week high of $48.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.68. The stock has a market cap of $725.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08 and a beta of 1.11.

Matthews International (NASDAQ:MATW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.24. Matthews International had a return on equity of 16.75% and a net margin of 1.77%. The firm had revenue of $471.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.38 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Matthews International Co. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matthews International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Matthews International’s payout ratio is currently 90.57%.

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.