Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Takes Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,750 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Matson by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after purchasing an additional 106,490 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $141,551,000 after purchasing an additional 91,172 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Matson by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 753,414 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $101,590,000 after purchasing an additional 58,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Matson by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 663,245 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $89,432,000 after purchasing an additional 117,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MATX shares. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This trade represents a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of Matson 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 directly owns 25,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Matson Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of MATX stock opened at $108.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 1.12. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.90 and a 52-week high of $169.12.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.60. Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $851.78 million. On average, analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.69%.

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.