Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,461 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 4,577 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Matson worth $8,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MATX. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 339.5% during 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 last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted 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 valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Matson Stock Down 2.9 %

MATX stock opened at $108.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $134.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.71. 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 12 month low of $100.50 and a 12 month high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.78 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Matson’s payout ratio is 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.