Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Sells $510,788.68 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP Vic Angoco, Jr. sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $510,788.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,786,059.32. This represents a 15.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Matson Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MATX traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $223.13. The stock had a trading volume of 428,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.76. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $893.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MATX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth about $17,276,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $2,017,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Matson by 12.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 200,926 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,940,000 after purchasing an additional 22,516 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Matson by 887.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 57,586 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 51,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in Matson in the second quarter valued at about $1,398,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.