Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,588 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Matson were worth $1,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Matson by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,658,613 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $291,386,000 after acquiring an additional 43,846 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 11.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 653,613 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $57,989,000 after purchasing an additional 65,736 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Matson by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 293,163 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $32,131,000 after purchasing an additional 59,652 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 450.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 239,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $26,243,000 after buying an additional 195,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RK Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Matson by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. RK Capital Management LLC now owns 112,490 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $12,329,000 after buying an additional 18,690 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other Matson news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.54, for a total value of $1,023,825.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 230,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,076,024.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Matson news, CEO Matthew J. Cox sold 7,843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,825.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 230,397 shares in the company, valued at $30,076,024.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.48, for a total value of $314,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,830.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,359 shares of company stock valued at $4,363,849. 2.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX traded down $2.22 on Friday, hitting $128.42. The stock had a trading volume of 15,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,160. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $120.20 and a 200-day moving average of $114.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.04 and a 52-week high of $133.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.09.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The shipping company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $722.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $730.44 million. Matson had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 10.1 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MATX. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Matson in a report on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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.