Matson (NYSE:MATX) SVP Sells $83,812.98 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP Jennifer Tungul sold 402 shares of Matson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $83,812.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,083.48. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Matson Price Performance

Matson stock opened at $217.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Matson, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.97 and a 52 week high of $230.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $204.18 and a 200-day moving average of $181.55.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.The business had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Matson by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Matson by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Matson by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Matson by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,749 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Matson during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

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.