John Warren Sullivan Sells 1,917 Shares of Matson (NYSE:MATX) Stock

Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) SVP John Warren Sullivan sold 1,917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.49, for a total transaction of $399,675.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,590,778.70. This trade represents a 20.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Matson Stock Performance

Matson stock traded up $10.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $214.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 239,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,274. The company has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.27. Matson, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.97 and a 12-month high of $230.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $202.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.52.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The shipping company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $969.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $893.91 million. Matson had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 13.41%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Matson, Inc. will post 16.01 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Matson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Matson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MATX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Matson during the second quarter valued at about $952,903,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Matson by 144.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 455,133 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $44,872,000 after purchasing an additional 269,310 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Matson in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,415,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,637,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Matson during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,761,000. 84.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.