Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Christopher Scott Sells 600 Shares

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP Christopher Scott sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $131,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,354 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,944.60. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Matson Stock Down 0.7%

Matson stock opened at $216.79 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $206.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.97 and a 52 week high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $969.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MATX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at about $952,903,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson by 144.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,637,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,796,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Company 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.