Capital Research Global Investors Cuts Position in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its position in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 663,825 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 75,066 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 2.13% of Matson worth $65,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Matson by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 127,208 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $12,541,000 after buying an additional 34,631 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC increased its position in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the third quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 102,721 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $10,127,000 after acquiring an additional 22,393 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the third quarter valued at $740,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the second quarter valued at $377,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Matson by 2.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Matson news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.79, for a total transaction of $339,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,289,448.36. This trade represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kevin L. Stuck sold 2,524 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.08, for a total value of $421,709.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,331 shares in the company, valued at $389,463.48. This trade represents a 51.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,041 shares of company stock worth $6,645,707 over the last quarter. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Matson Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $153.93 on Thursday. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.97 and a 1-year high of $177.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.30.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The shipping company reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.91. Matson had a net margin of 13.30% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $851.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $847.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.80 earnings per share. Matson’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. Matson’s payout ratio is 10.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MATX shares. Stephens boosted their price objective on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Matson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $167.00 price objective on shares of Matson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.25.

Matson 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.