Sterling Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 52.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,344 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 10,186 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Matson were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Matson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,671,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $453,616,000 after purchasing an additional 21,516 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Matson by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,982,793 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $244,975,000 after buying an additional 21,463 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 2.9% during 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 buying an additional 35,229 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Matson by 27.9% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after buying an additional 128,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Matson by 144.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after buying an additional 269,310 shares during the period. 84.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Scott sold 1,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.05, for a total transaction of $275,196.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,757,633.40. This trade represents a 13.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of Matson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total value of $220,284.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,301,690.02. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,963 shares of company stock worth $4,349,268 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MATX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Matson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.25.

Matson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $195.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.41. Matson, Inc. has a one year low of $86.97 and a one year high of $203.08. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $777.55 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current year.

Matson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.58%.

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.