Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Matson, Inc. (NYSE:MATX) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,244 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,915 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.34% of Matson worth $15,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Matson by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,086,932 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,562,000 after buying an additional 106,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Matson by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,049,772 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $141,551,000 after acquiring an additional 91,172 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Matson in the fourth quarter valued at $9,788,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new position in Matson in the third quarter valued at $6,735,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Matson during the 3rd quarter worth $5,746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.76% of the company’s stock.

Matson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MATX opened at $130.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.96. Matson, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.50 and a 1-year high of $169.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.05.

Matson (NYSE:MATX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $3.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.60. The company had revenue of $890.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $851.78 million. Matson had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 16.89%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Matson, Inc. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Matson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Matson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Matson

In related news, SVP Richard S. Kinney sold 1,997 shares of Matson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.11, for a total value of $273,808.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,425 shares in the company, valued at $1,155,151.75. The trade was a 19.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John P. Lauer sold 7,985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.73, for a total value of $1,075,819.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,394,118.16. This represents a 24.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MATX. Stephens increased their price target on Matson from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Matson from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Matson Profile

Matson, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of ocean transportation and logistics services. It operates through two segments, Ocean Transportation and Logistics. The Ocean Transportation segment offers ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia.