Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells $595,362.70 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Christopher Scott sold 3,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total transaction of $595,362.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,611.92. This represents a 22.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Matson Trading Up 1.4%

MATX opened at $181.43 on Thursday. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $189.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $167.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.11. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MATX. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 144.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after acquiring an additional 269,310 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Matson during the third quarter worth about $26,415,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter worth about $17,276,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $65,770,000 after purchasing an additional 128,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the third quarter worth about $9,503,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MATX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.