Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 10,186 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 52.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,344 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,186 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MATX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Matson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,671,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $453,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,516 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Matson by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,982,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $244,975,000 after acquiring an additional 21,463 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,300,000 after acquiring an additional 35,229 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,770,000 after purchasing an additional 128,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 144.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MATX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research raised Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Matson in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.25.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX opened at $195.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.29. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.97 and a 12 month high of $203.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.41.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 10.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total transaction of $450,475.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,979,206.96. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total transaction of $527,884.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,656 shares in the company, valued at $2,951,625.68. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,963 shares of company stock valued at $4,349,268. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

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.