Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells $97,648.20 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Laura Rascon sold 540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.83, for a total value of $97,648.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,337,398.48. This trade represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of Matson stock opened at $179.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $167.87 and its 200-day moving average is $145.31. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $189.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s payout ratio is 10.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.25.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Matson by 124.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.