Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Holdings Lowered by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 28.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,366 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 958 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Matson were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Matson by 339.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Matson by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Up 0.8 %

Matson stock opened at $132.21 on Thursday. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.10.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value 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 approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

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.