The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in Matson, Inc. $MATX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,981 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,072,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.05% of Matson as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Matson by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Matson by 0.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 30,624 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Matson during the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Matson by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,880 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 84.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MATX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Matson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Matson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Stephens boosted 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. Zacks Research upgraded Matson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Matson from $230.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Matson news, SVP Kuuhaku T. Park sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total value of $208,490.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,081,564.16. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher A. Scott sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $131,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,354 shares in the company, valued at $2,056,944.60. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 15,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,223,716 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Matson Stock Performance

Matson stock opened at $219.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $210.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.73. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 1.27.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. Matson had a net margin of 13.41% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Matson’s payout ratio is currently 10.16%.

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.