Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 323,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,156 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Matson were worth $43,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MATX. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Matson by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $141,551,000 after buying an additional 91,172 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,788,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the third quarter worth approximately $5,746,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Matson during the 4th quarter worth $4,328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Matson Stock Performance

MATX opened at $112.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.57 and a 200-day moving average of $140.91. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.50 and a 52-week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $890.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $851.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

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.