Insider Selling: Matson (NYSE:MATX) EVP Sells $131,940.00 in Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) EVP Christopher Scott sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $131,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,056,944.60. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Matson Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:MATX opened at $223.14 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $206.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $230.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 1.27.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $893.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.92 earnings per share. Matson’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Matson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MATX. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Matson by 3.4% during the second 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Matson by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 258 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Matson by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,749 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.