Highland Capital Management LLC Invests $261,000 in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Matson in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 226.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 595 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of MATX traded up $3.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $135.74. 174,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 267,749. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.68 and a twelve month high of $137.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.26. Matson had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 13.89%. The business had revenue of $847.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $861.68 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total transaction of $96,072.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,597,208.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Matson news, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 744 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.13, for a total value of $96,072.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,208.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Joel M. Wine sold 8,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.80, for a total transaction of $1,151,600.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 151,329 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,175.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,876 shares of company stock valued at $12,400,615. 2.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Matson Company Profile

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.