Metis Global Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,596 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Matson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter worth $34,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Matson in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Matson in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Matson in the first quarter valued at $71,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Matson from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Matson from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Matson Stock Down 3.9 %

Matson stock opened at $154.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Matson, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.75 and a fifty-two week high of $169.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.45.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The shipping company reported $5.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by $0.91. The company had revenue of $962.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $965.73 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 11.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,615 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.62, for a total value of $215,796.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,973 shares in the company, valued at $1,065,352.26. The trade was a 16.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rusty K. Rolfe sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.97, for a total value of $497,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,629,929.87. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,614 shares of company stock worth $4,338,094. 2.32% 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.