KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $674,000 in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Matson by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Matson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,645 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Matson by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Matson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 28,170 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,798,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MATX. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $131.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.16. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $100.50 and a one year high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The company had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

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.