Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP John Warren Sullivan Sells 1,917 Shares of Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 1,917 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $399,675.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,590,778.70. This represents a 20.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Matson Trading Up 4.9%

MATX opened at $214.41 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $203.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a twelve month low of $86.97 and a twelve month high of $230.74.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $969.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This is a positive change from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Matson’s payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MATX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Matson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $232.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter worth $952,903,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Matson by 144.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after acquiring an additional 269,310 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Matson in the third quarter worth about $26,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,637,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,761,000. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Matson Company Profile

Matson, Inc (NYSE: MATX) is a U.S.-based provider of ocean transportation and supply chain logistics services with a focus on Pacific trade lanes. The company operates a fleet of container ships that regularly service Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia and other Pacific islands, as well as mainland U.S. ports. Matson’s ocean transportation segment offers scheduled liner services, expedited shipping options and specialized project cargo handling for industries ranging from retail to heavy machinery.

In addition to its core liner operations, Matson offers ocean transportation services between Asia and the U.S.