Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Raises Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 206.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 144,623 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,400 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.44% of Matson worth $19,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of MATX stock opened at $113.26 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.12. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $92.90 and a one year high of $169.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $119.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.60.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.69%.

Insider Transactions at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This trade represents a 24.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.33.

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.