Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells $450,475.00 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Kuuhaku Park sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.19, for a total value of $450,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,979,206.96. The trade was a 18.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX stock traded down $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $181.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 54,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 285,414. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.97 and a 1 year high of $189.99.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 144.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at about $26,415,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,276,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the 2nd 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 position in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,503,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MATX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Zacks Research raised Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.