Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Position in Matson, Inc. $MATX

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 65,371 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 2,808 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Matson were worth $8,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Matson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,671,519 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $453,616,000 after acquiring an additional 21,516 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Matson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,250,636 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $123,300,000 after purchasing an additional 35,229 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Matson by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 590,763 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,770,000 after acquiring an additional 128,994 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Matson by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $44,872,000 after acquiring an additional 269,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Matson in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,415,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Matson Stock Performance

MATX opened at $188.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.29. Matson, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.97 and a 52-week high of $192.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.43.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The shipping company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $757.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $777.55 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Matson, Inc. will post 13.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 7th were given a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 7th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is 10.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Grace M. Cerocke sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.57, for a total transaction of $220,284.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,301,690.02. This trade represents a 6.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Laura L. Rascon sold 540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.83, for a total transaction of $97,648.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 18,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,337,398.48. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,672 shares of company stock valued at $4,210,279 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MATX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Matson to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Matson in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Matson in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Matson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.25.

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.