Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,184 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Matson were worth $1,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Matson by 339.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Matson by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Matson by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Matson Stock Performance

NYSE:MATX opened at $128.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.05. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.50 and a twelve month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

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.