Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Invests $45.80 Million in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 238,234 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,796,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Man Group plc bought a new position in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,197,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at about $653,000. J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth about $8,979,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth about $1,878,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth about $231,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.33.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $222.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $208.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $208,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher A. Scott sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $131,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,056,944.60. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,262 shares of company stock worth $3,223,716 in the last 90 days. 2.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.