HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Matson, Inc. $MATX

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,736 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 5,457 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $2,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 41,346 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,300,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Matson by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 102,629 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $13,154,000 after acquiring an additional 6,778 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the first quarter valued at about $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 24,459 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Matson stock opened at $165.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.35. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.97 and a 12 month high of $177.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 5th will be paid 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 currently 10.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MATX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens raised their price target on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $167.00 target price on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.25.

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.