Capital Research Global Investors Cuts Stake in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Capital Research Global Investors lessened its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 663,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 75,066 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Matson were worth $65,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Matson by 3.3% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,611 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Matson by 19.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 749 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Matson by 124.3% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Matson by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,177 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in Matson by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 14,321 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.25.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 6,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.31, for a total transaction of $1,023,103.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,446,588. The trade was a 29.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total value of $421,709.92. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,331 shares in the company, valued at $389,463.48. This trade represents a 51.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 40,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,645,707 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of MATX opened at $153.93 on Thursday. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $177.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $154.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.30.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 10.33%.

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.