Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP John P. Lauer Sells 3,354 Shares

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP John P. Lauer sold 3,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.48, for a total value of $444,337.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,589,943.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Matson Stock Up 2.2 %

MATX traded up $2.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.73. 234,418 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.41. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.68 and a twelve month high of $137.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Security National Bank bought a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Matson during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens raised their price objective on Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

About Matson

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.