Vest Financial LLC Acquires 6,983 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,836 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,983 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the third quarter worth $92,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Matson by 1,661.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,092 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Matson by 80.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock opened at $136.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.61 and its 200 day moving average is $139.79. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $100.50 and a one year high of $169.12. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Matson’s payout ratio is 11.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.50, for a total transaction of $124,125.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,109,297.50. This represents a 5.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rusty K. Rolfe sold 3,000 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.97, for a total transaction of $497,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,629,929.87. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

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.