Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,736 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 901 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MATX. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Matson by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Matson by 7.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,079 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,437,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Matson by 1.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Matson by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,509 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth $512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MATX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $112.26 on Monday. Matson, Inc. has a 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $135.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $851.78 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

About Matson

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.