Matthews International (MATW) will raise its quarterly dividend by 5.3 percent to $0.20 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018. This is the 24th consecutive year of annual dividend increases by the brand solutions and memorialization products provider.

The dividend is payable December 10, 2018 to stockholders of record November 26, 2018. The ex-date should normally be November 23, the Friday prior to the record date.

A new annualized dividend rate of 80 cents per share yields 1.9% at a stock price of $43.29.

Joseph C. Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “This dividend increase reflects the steady long-term growth of the Company, our confidence in our strategic objectives and our commitment to our shareholders. Our continued strong operating cash flow allows us to maintain the tradition of annual dividend increases, while continuing to appropriately invest in the Company’s growth and repay debt. This represents our 24(th) consecutive annual dividend increase since becoming a publicly-traded company.”

Matthews International Corporation is a provider of brand solutions, memorialization products and industrial technologies. The SGK Brand Solutions segment provides brand development, deployment and delivery services. The Memorialization segment is a provider of memorialization products, including memorials, caskets and cremation equipment, primarily to cemetery and funeral home customers. The Industrial Technologies segment designs, manufactures and distributes marking, coding and industrial automation technologies and solutions. The company was founded in 1850 and incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1902.