Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells 1,200 Shares of Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Grace Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total transaction of $220,284.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,690.02. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX traded up $0.77 on Friday, reaching $181.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 187,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,715. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.44. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $190.00.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Matson by 144.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Matson during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,415,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,761,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,276,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Matson by 27.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after purchasing an additional 128,994 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.25.

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.