Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Leonard P. Isotoff Sells 500 Shares

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Leonard P. Isotoff sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $55,735.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,644 shares in the company, valued at $629,136.68. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Matson Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MATX traded down $0.94 on Wednesday, reaching $110.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 339,121 shares, compared to its average volume of 341,213. 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 twelve month low of $91.75 and a twelve month high of $169.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.77 and a 200-day moving average of $131.44.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its 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). Matson had a return on equity of 16.89% and a net margin of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $782.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MATX shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Matson by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,651 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Matson by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,856 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Matson by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC increased its stake in Matson by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RHS Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Matson in the 4th quarter valued at about $267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.76% 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.