Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 699 Shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,670 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.08% of Matson worth $3,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Matson by 339.5% in the fourth 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 lifted its stake in Matson by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Matson by 12.1% during 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. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MATX opened at $133.07 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.03. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $100.50 and a one year high of $169.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Matson

In related news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matson 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.