D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 75,200 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 256.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,518 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 75,200 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.31% of Matson worth $14,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MATX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $542,759,000 after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $146,562,000 after purchasing an additional 106,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $141,551,000 after purchasing an additional 91,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Matson by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $101,590,000 after purchasing an additional 58,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Matson by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $89,432,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MATX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.33.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 1,700 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.19, for a total value of $200,923.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,811.28. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,682 shares of company stock worth $1,550,551. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of MATX stock opened at $117.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $114.42 and a 200-day moving average of $134.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.75 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.34 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.96%.

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.