Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Buys Shares of 258,806 Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 258,806 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,897,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MATX. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Matson by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 213 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Matson by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 586 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new position in Matson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Matson

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total transaction of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Matson Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Matson stock opened at $96.19 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $114.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.36. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.75 and a 52-week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $782.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $818.07 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MATX shares. Stephens reduced their price objective on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Matson in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Matson currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.00.

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.