Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,434 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 217 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $2,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Matson in the 4th quarter worth $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 339.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 901 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,229 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $128.95 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.05. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.50 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.03.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.78 million. Equities research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens upped their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.