Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 8,572 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 118,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 8,572 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Matson were worth $14,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MATX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Matson by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,511 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,501,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 7.1% during the first 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 bought a new position in shares of Matson during the first quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Matson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.25.

Matson Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of MATX opened at $157.97 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $160.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.56. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $177.51.

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

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.33%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 2,509 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $388,895.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,615. This represents a 14.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 8,603 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.13, for a total transaction of $1,429,216.39. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,943,593.94. This represents a 26.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,550 shares of company stock worth $7,034,602. Corporate 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.