First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 21.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 663,245 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 117,545 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 2.00% of Matson worth $89,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,025,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $542,759,000 after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $141,551,000 after buying an additional 91,172 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Matson by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 346,589 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $46,734,000 after acquiring an additional 108,774 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Matson by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $43,570,000 after acquiring an additional 36,156 shares during the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens lifted their target price on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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.

Matson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $98.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.87 and a 12-month high of $169.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.76.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total transaction of $273,808.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

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.