John Warren Sullivan Sells 3,331 Shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 3,331 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $600,046.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,719,796.58. The trade was a 25.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Matson Price Performance

MATX opened at $179.17 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $167.16 and a 200 day moving average of $143.50. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $189.99.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $757.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $777.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,671,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $453,616,000 after purchasing an additional 21,516 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,982,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $244,975,000 after purchasing an additional 21,463 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 2.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 27.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after buying an additional 128,994 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Matson by 144.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after buying an additional 269,310 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Matson

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.