Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Sells 13,000 Shares of Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP Peter Heilmann sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.46, for a total value of $2,150,980.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,067.34. This trade represents a 28.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.24. The stock had a trading volume of 250,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,667. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $177.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.39 and its 200 day moving average is $121.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.32.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.91. The business had revenue of $851.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $847.30 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.25.

Institutional Trading of Matson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 124.3% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

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.