VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Sells 4,400 Shares of Matson, Inc. $MATX

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al cut its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Matson were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 124.3% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 249 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, EVP Vic S. Angoco, Jr. sold 6,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.31, for a total transaction of $1,023,103.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,446,588. This trade represents a 29.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter T. Heilmann sold 13,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.46, for a total transaction of $2,150,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,067.34. The trade was a 28.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 60,993 shares of company stock valued at $10,360,506 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $179.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.87 and its 200-day moving average is $144.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $189.99.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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 year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Stephens upped their price target 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.25.

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.