Laura Rascon Sells 540 Shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Laura Rascon sold 540 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.83, for a total value of $97,648.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,337,398.48. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Matson Price Performance

NYSE MATX opened at $179.56 on Friday. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $189.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $167.87 and a 200 day moving average of $144.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. Matson had a return on equity of 15.90% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.18 EPS. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current year.

Matson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MATX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Matson from $190.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Matson in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MATX. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Matson by 144.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,415,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,276,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after purchasing an additional 128,994 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Matson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,503,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Matson

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.