Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells 3,331 Shares of Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 3,331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $600,046.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,547 shares in the company, valued at $1,719,796.58. The trade was a 25.87% 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.

Matson Trading Down 0.5%

MATX traded down $0.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $181.83. 154,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,114. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 1.30. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $189.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.Matson’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the 3rd quarter worth $740,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in shares of Matson by 2,944.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 57,850 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,703,000 after purchasing an additional 55,950 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 50,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $4,987,000 after purchasing an additional 16,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Matson by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 67,332 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,638,000 after purchasing an additional 13,104 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.