Ethic Inc. Has $537,000 Position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX)

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,984 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Matson were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Matson by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 323,124 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,570,000 after purchasing an additional 36,156 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Matson by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 182,570 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,707,000 after buying an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,328,000. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Matson by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 416,473 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $56,157,000 after buying an additional 177,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,151.75. This represents a 19.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,394,118.16. The trade was a 24.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,682 shares of company stock worth $1,550,551. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Matson Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE MATX opened at $115.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.87. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $91.75 and a one year high of $169.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64 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.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The shipping company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $818.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MATX shares. StockNews.com cut Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Matson from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Matson from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price target on Matson from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

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.