Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,808 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,371 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,808 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.21% of Matson worth $8,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MATX. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 124.3% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Matson by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total value of $275,196.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,757,633.40. This represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $450,475.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,979,206.96. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,672 shares of company stock valued at $4,210,279. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $188.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $192.53.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Matson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.25.

Matson Profile

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.